Charges Dropped/Dismissed James Bliss Wilder III, St. Louis, Missouri (arrested Aug 2013) [case dropped due to victim's death]

... the charges were dropped after the victim died. However, the Lindbergh school board reviewed the evidence and voted on May 5th to terminate the contract with Wilder.

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James Bliss Wilder III, 47, physical education teacher and girls' track & cross country coach at Sperreng Middle School, Lindbergh Schools, St. Louis, Missouri, "charged ... with sodomy for allegedly having oral sex with a female student"

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Lindbergh coach charged with statutory sodomy involving former student (Aug 21 2013)

[James Bliss] Wilder [III] was charged Wednesday with six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for crimes that prosecutors say took place over a period of more than a year between August 1996 and the teen’s birthday in 1997, when she turned 18. Police described Wilder and the teenager as having an ongoing relationship. Court records say he engaged in oral sex several times with the victim, including several times at Lindbergh High School. Wilder was arrested in 2008 for sex abuse allegations involving a different girl, but he was never charged with a crime, authorities said.​

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KSDK: Sperreng Middle School teacher arrested following years-old incident with student (Aug 21 2013)

[Officer Randy] Vaughn says the investigation started this summer when a former high school student came forward to disclose a long-term sexual relationship with the male teacher that started in 1996. He says he does not know where the relationship took place. The teacher now works at Sperreng, but Vaughn says he is not sure if the teacher was employed at that school during the relationship.​

 

Fox 2 Now: Middle school teacher charged for having sex with student in 1996 (Aug 21 2013)

James Bliss Wilder III, is charged with six counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree. The charges stem from an alleged relationship Wilder had with a 16-year-old student in 1996 ... The charges against James Bliss wilder III date back to the summer of 1996 when he allegedly started a sexual relationship with a girl on the cross country team at Lindbergh high school. He has been coaching there for the past 20 years. It began when she was 16 years old​

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We spoke with a woman who claims to be the victim in this case who said the sexual relationship went on for 15 years despite the fact he was married; and later so was she. She says she is coming forward now because she thinks there may be other victims and wants to protect other potential victims.​

 

KMOV: Lindbergh teacher charged with sexually assaulting 16-year-old student (Aug 21 2013)

According to court documents, [James Bliss] Wilder [III] engaged in oral sex with a 16-year-old student between Aug. 1, 1996 and Sept. 21, 1997. Police said the victim at the time was a Lindbergh High School sophomore and was coached by Wilder, who coached the school's cross country and track team.​

Authorities said during that time Wilder and the victim developed a mentor-student relationship.​

 

CBS Local St. Louis: Teacher Charged In Alleged 1996 Affair With Lindbergh HS Sophomore (Aug 21 2013)

Police say 47-year-old James Bliss Wilder III of St. Louis carried on a year-long sexual relationship with a girl who was a 16-year-old sophomore at Lindbergh High School during the 1996 school year. The alleged victim approached police over the summer to report the affair, which reportedly sprang up during a time when she was a member of the girls’ cross country and track team and Wilder was her coach and mentor.​

 

South County Times: Lindbergh Schools Teacher Charged With Six Counts Of Statutory Sodomy (Aug 21 2013)

The charges were issued after police investigated allegations the victim brought forward this summer concerning a long-term sexual relationship between the victim and [James Bliss] Wilder [III] from Aug. 1, 1996, to Sept. 21, 1997, according to the St. Louis County Police Department. "At that time, the 16-year-old Lindbergh High School sophomore advised that she was coached by Wilder, who was the girls cross country and track coach, and they developed a mentor/student relationship with him," a written statement from the police department said.​

 

Inquisitr: Sperreng Teacher Arrested For Allegedly Sodomizing 16-Year-Old Student (Aug 21 2013)

During the Summer, county police were told about the alleged incidents, which the victim claims started in August 1996 and continued until September 1997. The victim was just 16-years-old at the time and was a Sophomore at the Lindbergh High School. At the same time [James Bliss] Wilder [III], the Sperreng teacher who was arrested, was her PE coach for cross country and track. Wilder, who is now 47, has been investigated by the police before on similar allegations. Back in 2008 the police investigated a relationship he had with another student in his care but no charges were filed at that time due to a lack of “credible evidence.”​

 

UPI: St. Louis-area teacher arrested on sodomy charges involving former student (Aug 21 2013)

St. Louis County authorities arrested a 47-year-old middle school P.E. teacher on sodomy charges following allegations that he had oral sex with a 16-year-old female student in the mid-1990s ... The victim came forward this summer, telling police that she and Wilder had an ongoing sexual relationship from August 1, 1996 until September 21, 1997.​

 

International Business Times: Sperreng Teacher Arrested: James Wilder III Allegedly Sodomized Former 16-Year-Old Student [PHOTO] (Aug 22 2013)

James Bliss Wilder III, 47, who has taught physical education for 20 years at Sperreng Middle School in Sappington, Mo., was arrested on six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for allegedly having oral sex with a 16-year-old student between Aug. 1, 1996, and Sept. 21, 1997, the St. Louis Dispatch reports. At the time, the victim was a sophomore at Lindbergh High School and a member of the school’s cross country team, which Wilder coached and continues to coach today, KMOV reports. Court documents say Wilder had oral sex on six occasions with the victim, including several times on school property.​

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This isn't the first such arrest for Wilder. In 2008, he was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting another female student, but charges were never filed in that case. A woman claiming to be the plaintiff in that case said the sexual relationship with Wilder lasted 15 years, despite the fact that he was married and (later) so was she, Fox 2 reports. ​

 

MSN: Coach arrested for sexual assault of former student (Aug 22 2013)

James Bliss Wilder III is on leave with pay as Lindbergh High School track coach and physical education teacher at Sperreng Middle School after his Tuesday arrest. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the alleged victim recently came forward. She was a 16-year-old member of the Lindbergh High track team at the time. Wilder faces six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for crimes that prosecutors say occurred between August 1996 and the teen's 18th birthday in 1997. Police say some of the sex acts took place at the high school.​

 

More news articles:

• Christian Post: Sperreng Teacher Arrested: Sodomy Charges Filed Against PE Teacher in St Louis County [PHOTO, VIDEO] (Aug 21 2013)
• Examiner: Sperreng teacher arrest: 6 Sodomy charges for 1996 sexual contact with student (Aug 21 2013)
• Examiner: Sperreng teacher arrested: 1996 student / teacher relationship uncovered (Aug 21 2013)
• Sunset Hills - Crestwood Patch: Lindbergh Teacher Charged With Sexual Assault of Student (Aug 21 2013)
• Town and Country - Manchester Patch: Manchester Teacher Charged With Sexual Assault of Student (Aug 21 2013)
• L.A. Late: Sperreng Teacher Arrested in St Louis: James Wilder III (Aug 22 2013)
• Headlines & Global News: Sperreng Teacher Arrested: St. Louis Middle School Coach Sexually Assaulted 16-Year-Old Student in '96, Charged With Sodomy [VIDEO] (Aug 22 2013)
• KGUN 9: St. Louis Co. coach arrest for sex assault (Aug 22 2013)
• eCanada Now: Sperreng Teacher Arrested For Sodomy Of Student 17 Years Ago (Aug 22 2013)

 

Riverfront Times: James Wilder, Lindbergh Middle School Teacher, Charged With Statutory Sodomy (Aug 21 2013)

Allegations surfaced this summer, concerning acts that took place between August 1, 1996 and September 21, 1997, police say. At the time, the victim was a sixteen-year-old Lindbergh High female sophomore, who had Wilder as her girls cross country and track coach, cops say. She apparently had a "mentor/student relationship" with him, officials note. Wilder coaches at the high school today and also teaches gym at the middle school -- where he has been employed for twenty years. ​

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The probable cause statement doesn't have a whole lot of detail, but says that Wilder engaged in oral sex with the victim multiple times when she was sixteen. Some of the acts may have happened at Lindbergh High School, according to the Post-Dispatch, which notes that Wilder was arrested in 2008 for sex abuse allegations involving a different girl, but wasn't charged.​

 

Celebrity Examiner: MO Teacher arrested for sex with student 17 years later (Aug 22 2013)

James Bliss Wilder III ... was arrested at the middle school on Tuesday and charged with six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for crimes that prosecutors say took place from August 1996 through 1997 and started when the teen was 16-years-old. Missouri’s statute of limitations for a sexual crime against victims age 18 and younger is 30 years.​

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According to one report the relationship began when she was in high school and he was the track and field coach. KTVI-TV spoke with the victim who claims the relationship with Wilder continued for 15 years through her marriage. The victim said she decided to come forward to protect other potential victims.​

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In 2008 Wilder was accused by another female student, but police were unable to find any credible evidence to charge Wilder.​

 

Huffington Post: Sperreng Middle School Teacher Arrested, Charged With Felony Sodomy (Aug 22 2013)

James Bliss Wilder III is on leave with pay as Lindbergh High School track coach and physical education teacher at Sperreng Middle School after his Tuesday arrest. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/16d0IcC) reports the alleged victim recently came forward. She was a 16-year-old member of the Lindbergh High track team at the time.​

WTVQ: Lindbergh coach charged with statutory sodomy involving former student (Aug 22 2013)

 

South County Times: Charges Filed Against Middle School Teacher (Aug 23 2013)

[James B. Wilder III] was charged with the six counts of second-degree statutory sodomy for crimes that occurred between August 1996 and September 1997, when the victim turned 18, police said. Wilder, who has been placed on administrative leave by the district, allegedly had oral sex with the teenager several times when she was 16 years old, according to court documents filed with the case. "At that time, the 16-year-old Lindbergh High School sophomore advised that she was coached by Wilder, who was the girls cross country and track coach, and they developed a mentor/student relationship," the St. Louis County Police Department said, noting detectives began investigating the case after the victim brought allegations forward this summer concerning her long-term sexual relationship with the teacher and coach.​