Teen Accused of Sexual Assault No Longer Attending Hamilton

A teenager accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl this summer is no longer attending Hamilton High School, district officials said Thursday. 

Due to student confidentiality laws, district spokeswoman Denise Lindberg would not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding 17-year-old Daniel Koepke, who faces four felony charges in Washington County. 

"The high school worked out a cooperative arrangement with the individual, who will no longer be attending classes at Hamilton High School or any facility in the district," she said Thursday morning. 

Koepke was charged in Washington County Circuit Court in July with four felony charges including first degree sex assault of a child under 13 years old, exposing genitals to a child and causing a child under 13 years old to view or listen to a sexual activity. 

The school district learned of the allegations Monday.  

"We should have been informed of the situation. We were not," Lindberg said. "We started hearing from some parents within the last week about this." 

Lindberg said protocols are typically in place for school districts to be informed of these types of court proceedings involving a student.  

"We don't know why they didn't occur. It put us in a difficult situation," said Lindberg, adding that the case is somewhat unusual in that the alleged crime happened in a different jurisdiction.  

The police liaison officer with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department contacted the Washington County District Attorney's office after learning of the alleged incident and the charges, Lindberg said. 

Late Monday afternoon, the Washington County District Attorney provided the district with information about the bond release restriction. According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court System, Koepke is prohibited from having no unsupervised contact with any child under 16 years old.  

"At that point, the high school put into place some immediate measures related to the bond restriction," Lindberg said. 

"The bottom line in all of this … is that we want our community to be safe. We want our children to be safe."

Hamilton School District officials on Tuesday sent a letter to Woodside Elementary School parents informing them the teenager lives near their school.  

Woodside Principal James Edmond wrote that extra police patrols have been planned near the school.

"In addition, all district schools have monitored, secure entrances, and I have reinforced with our staff the need to be diligent in playground supervision," he wrote. 

"Now is a good time to remind everyone about the importance of close and careful supervision of children. Conversation with young children about stranger-danger also may be appropriate," Edmond added in the letter.

The district, according to parents, also made "robocalls" describing the situation and steps being taken by the district. 

"I know that parents are somewhat frustrated because some of the information has been vague, but we're just not able to provide that specific information," Lindberg said. "We want parents to be informed. The bottom line in all of this … is that we want our community to be safe. We want our children to be safe."