February 18, 2019 at 4:29 p.m.
NCES assault case set for trial in September
NCES assault case set for trial in September
By By River News Staff-
Stavros Iliopoulos appeared in Oneida County Circuit Court late Friday afternoon, with attorney Elizabeth Svehlek, for a pretrial conference at which time Judge Michael Bloom noted that he had been advised the parties had requested a trial be scheduled.
A two-day jury trial has been scheduled for Sept. 4-5 with a final pretrial conference to be held Aug. 20.
When asked if she intends to file any pretrial motions, Svehlek said she was considering which issues to litigate, given the severity of the allegations. Bloom directed that all motions to be heard on Aug. 20 be filed at least five days prior to that date.
Iliopoulos was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child, false imprisonment and child enticement Nov. 21, 2018 after a Northwoods Community Elementary School (NCES) student claimed he intercepted her as she attempted to enter a restroom Nov. 20 and touched her inappropriately. Iliopoulos was working as a school custodian at the time of the alleged assault but was later fired by Victory Janitorial which has a contract with the School District of Rhinelander to clean school buildings.
According to the complaint, the girl told investigators she left her classroom to use the restroom when Iliopoulos approached her and asked for a hug. She declined and attempted to go back to her classroom, but Iliopoulos took her to a closet instead, she reported.
In the closet, the girl said Iliopoulos hugged and kissed her and then began to touch her over and under her clothing. She said she tried to reach the door handle but Iliopoulos grabbed her arm and pushed it up against the wall. He eventually let her out of the closet with a warning not to tell anyone what happened, she reported.
According to the complaint, investigators have reviewed video recordings of the school hallway during the timeframe in question.
"At 11:08:47, Iliopoulos is seen in the hallway as (the complaining witness) exits a classroom, briefly stops in front of Iliopoulos and immediately enters the girls' restroom and Iliopoulos walks down the hallway. At 11:09:35 Iliopoulos returns down the hallway, then turns right into the alcove for the girls restroom where the door to the closet is also located. A different camera angle shows both Iliopoulos and (the girl) walk toward the closet. At 11:14:46, (the girl) walks back to the classroom and at 11:16:48 Iliopoulos walks from the alcove."
In an interview with police, Iliopoulos claimed he was in the closet when the girl came over to him and asked what was in the closet. He said the door closed automatically but he immediately pushed the girl out and told her to "get the hell out of here."
He admitted to telling the child not to tell anyone about being in the closet with him.
Not guilty pleas were entered Nov. 27 and Iliopoulos remains in the Oneida County jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
After the charges were filed, representatives from the School District of Rhinelander said they had no indication Iliopoulos might pose a danger to students and staff, however in response to a River News open records request the district later turned over a record of a conversation the district's director of business affairs, Marta Kwiatkowski, had with Iliopoulos Sept. 28 in response to a harassment complaint made by an adult staff member.
According to the record, a Northwoods Community Elementary School (NCES) staff member reported that Iliopoulos made her uncomfortable by calling her to the workroom or storage and commenting on her looks.
In the document provided to the newspaper, Kwiatkowski indicated she counseled Iliopoulos who is referred to by the nickname Steve.
"We met with Steve to discuss the harassment claim made by a female employee," the record states. "(The staff member) claimed that Steve made her uncomfortable by calling her to the workroom or storage and commenting on her looks. He denied calling her to the workroom, but admitted that he comments on people's looks and that he likes to joke around. I asked him to stop, be polite but not to comment on appearance. I told him that he can talk about weather and other things, but comments on appearance are not appropriate. I told him not to get too close to people; we all need our personal space. Also, I told him not to have any physical contact with staff members and/or students."
In a subsequent phone interview, Kwiatkowski told the River News she memorialized the events of the meeting for her records, not for any particular recipient.
"I kind of jotted down what the meeting was in case if someone ever asked me so I would have a date," she said. "This was the only time I met with him, so I kind of wanted to document it for myself. It was just my notes, it didn't go into a lot of detail."
There were no further complaints made against Iliopoulos and the staff member reported just the one incident, which didn't involve any physical touching, she added.
Kwiatkowski said the NCES staff member reported the incident to director of instruction Terri Maney who reported it to her.
"The staff member asked that her name remain confidential," Kwiatkowski said, adding that she advised NCES teacher/principal Alex Bontz of the complaint but the rest of the staff at NCES was not made aware of it.
"After the fact, I filled (Bontz) in about the meeting in a conversation," Kwiatkowski said.
There were no additional complaints about Iliopoulos until Nov. 20, she added.
District superintendent Kelli Jacobi told the River News she did not find out about the September incident until after the fact.
"I believe there was a clear understanding, that Steve understood the concern and what the expectations were moving forward," Jacobi said, adding that she had no idea if Bontz was given any special instructions regarding Iliopoulos.
Kwiatkowski later confirmed that Bontz was not given any instruction or direction related to Iliopoulos after the report was received. Jacobi also said she was satisfied with how Kwiatkowski handled the matter.
Iliopoulos faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted of all charges.
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