Bice: Teacher charged with having sex with inmate had license renewed by DPI

State Republicans are ending the governor's race just like they started it:

By accusing Democratic candidate Tony Evers of not doing enough to revoke the license of a teacher found guilty of wrongdoing. Evers is running neck-and-neck with GOP Gov. Scott Walker. 

But this case, like the one involving a Middleton teacher who viewed porn, may say more about the incredible shortcomings of the state law in place at the time of the offense.

Records show a special education teacher at Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution was charged in 2011 with second-degree sexual assault for having sex with an inmate.

The teacher, Nadine Minglana, eventually pleaded no contest to a Class I felony for misconduct in office.  

In 2016, the state Department of Public Instruction renewed Minglana's teaching license, which is now active. Minglana, who did not return calls, currently works at a Sheboygan supper club. 

RELATED:Bice: GOP attacks Tony Evers for not revoking license of teacher accused of provocative Snapchats

RELATED:Tony Evers calls Scott Walker a liar after ad says Evers would release rapists

“If voters needed any further proof that Tony Evers lacks any leadership whatsoever, they have it now," said Alec Zimmerman, spokesman for the Republican Party. "His agency knowingly renewed the license of a teacher convicted of a felony after carrying on a shocking sexual jailhouse relationship with a student." 

But an official at the state's education agency said the department's hands were tied 

"It's not a crime against a child (felony misconduct in office), and it's not a high enough felony class to trigger auto-revoke," said Tom McCarthy, communications director at DPI.

According to a legal review of her case, the state could revoke someone's license in 2011 if they were found guilty of Class A through Class H felonies. Her case did not fit within those categories. Had she pleaded no contest to second-degree sexual assault, regulators could have stripped her of her license. But she did not. 

In addition, Minglana could have had her license revoked if the state ruled that she had engaged in "immoral conduct."

You would think that Minglana's actions would fit that definition, but DPI attorneys say they did not. 

At the time, immoral conduct was defined as a teacher who was guilty of doing something that "endangered the health, welfare, safety or education of any pupil." A pupil was someone 21 or younger enrolled in a school through the 12th grade.

Minglana was accused of having sex with a 22-year-old inmate who was taking a prison education program. The law has since been broadened to include Minglana's situation.

McCarthy said the revised law cannot be applied retroactively, meaning the state has to renew her license.

"Like all agencies that handle licenses, we follow the laws of the state in regards to auto-revocations — this crime does not fall into that category," McCarthy said.

Officials with Evers' campaign also pointed the finger back at the Walker administration, saying this was a matter to be handled by the Department of Corrections, which employed Minglana. 

According to corrections staff, Minglana, 49, was hired in August 2009 as a teacher at Kettle Moraine. She resigned in September 2011 while under investigation by the Corrections Department. 

The investigation focused on her relationship with inmate Andre Spears, 29. He is currently serving at the Jackson Correctional Institution for being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest. He had previously been locked up for recklessly endangering public safety. 

Spears told officials that Minglana had performed oral sex on him, touched his genitals and hugged and kissed him. The detective who investigated the case testified that a deputy warden at Kettle Moraine had contacted the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office about the matter after reviewing communication between the pair. 

Minglana was sentenced to three years' probation and was barred from teaching during that time. 

In applying to renew her license, she wrote a lengthy letter to state education officials in which she leveled a number of allegations against state corrections staff, accusing her supervisor of breaking prison policy and putting employees in an unsafe work environment. Minglana even suggested she was set up. 

Still, she acknowledged that she was guilty of misconduct in office.

An Evers campaign aide said the second-term Republican governor refuses to take accountability for the billion-dollar prison system he is responsible for managing. 

"It’s not surprising … that Scott Walker would launch baseless attacks on Tony Evers over misconduct at a prison Scott Walker manages," said Evers spokesman Sam Lau.

Zimmerman countered: "This is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Tony Evers to distract from the facts of this case and the growing evidence of his failed leadership." 

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.