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Teachers Gone Wild: Florida teacher tied to Milwaukee-area Catholic schools faces federal charges
Kayla Huynh
A former Milwaukee teacher and coach is facing two federal charges related to child sexual abuse images, according to court documents filed in Florida district court.
Authorities say Patrick Conor Russell, a 37-year-old teacher in south Florida, told federal agents he has never touched a child inappropriately but said he engaged in inappropriate conversations about children, some of which were sexual in nature, and requested images and videos of minors. He told agents he has been "battling" this for a while, the complaint said.
The FBI arrested Russell on federal charges involving the receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material.
The complaint, filed May 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, said Russell told another user on a private messaging app that he was a teacher and coach and wanted to find someone who could “bait” the students at his school into sending nude pictures.
Russell appeared to have sent the user images of students at his school and made sexually explicit comments about them, according to the complaint.
Before relocating to Florida, Russell worked in multiple educational and athletic positions within Milwaukee-area Catholic schools. The schools include Marquette University High School and Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, as well as Carmen Southeast High School, a public charter school, according to the advocacy group Nate's Mission.
In a statement, a Marquette High School spokesperson said Russell was a former assistant football and lacrosse coach from 2018 to 2024.
"Based on the information currently available, the reported charges relate to his time in Florida," the spokesperson said. "The charges do not indicate misconduct involving MUHS students, and we have not received any reports or allegations involving Mr. Russell during his time as assistant coach."
"We have also contacted the former students and families of teams that he coached," the spokesperson said. "The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority, and we encourage anyone who may have more information or concerns to report them and contact law enforcement."
In a news release, Nate's Mission, an advocacy group aiming to end clergy abuse in Wisconsin, urged state authorities to investigate Russell's work in the Milwaukee area.
"Wisconsin law does not require religious institutions to report suspected child abuse or related misconduct in the same manner as many other organizations serving children, creating significant gaps in accountability and oversight," the group said. "As a result, there is no assurance that allegations, concerns, or potential crimes would have been reported to law enforcement or disclosed when employees moved between institutions."
Caroline Clancy, a public affairs officer for the FBI's Milwaukee office, said the case is being handled in the Southern District of Florida and referred questions there.
Nate's Mission also referenced a series of sexual abuse cases within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and past attempts to cover up misconduct. The group said law enforcement should independently review any serious allegations involving Catholic clergy or educators to determine whether earlier warning signs or victims may be connected to the case.
Russell is scheduled to appear in federal court June 12 for a preliminary hearing or arraignment, according to online court records.
Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X: @_kaylahuynh.
Kayla Huynh's reporting is supported by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
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Sextortion, booming in Wisconsin, is exploding across North America
Natalie Eilbert
Less than 50 days into 2026, Wisconsin has already been tipped off to 111 sextortion cases happening across the state – more than two incidents per day.
That number is a reflection of why sextortion is the fastest-growing cybercrime targeting children in North America.
It's also especially disturbing, said Jesse Crowe, a special agent at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, because it continues the steep year-over-year climb of reported cases in Wisconsin. Crowe also cautioned that the number of cases could be much higher, given the numbers reflect tips pulled from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's CyberTipline, and don't include cases from law enforcement.
According to Crowe, there were more than 170 reported Wisconsin cases in 2023, the first year state agencies started tracking for this specific crime. In 2024, it climbed to a little more than 230 reported cases. Then, in 2025, Wisconsin tallied 650 reported sextortion crimes. At the current rate, 2026 is on pace to approach 850 cases in Wisconsin.
In other words, cases in Wisconsin have quadrupled over a three-year period and have led to two known suicides: Landon Weigelt, 17, of Oconto, and Braydon Bohn, 15, of Kronenwetter, outside of Wausau.
Bohn's death on March 5, 2025, prompted lawmakers to fast-track a bill recognizing sextortion as a crime, with felony murder charges against any cases ending in suicide. That law, Crowe said, has made it possible to prosecute people for any sextortion case that causes death. Bohn's parents tirelessly advocated for the passage of the bill.
Sextortion is a form of child sexual exploitation that involves threatening or blackmailing children, often after tricking them into sending them nude or sexual images, although images don't necessarily need to be sent. The scammers threaten to go public with their photos if they don't comply with their demands, which sometimes involve money, sexual activities or sending additional sexual content.
"There's a lot of victim blaming and shaming out there. One of the huge messages we try and get out there is that it is not these children's fault. It's not the parents fault either," said Crowe, commander of the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children task force. "They are victims of crimes. They have been tricked into doing something against their will."
Why are the numbers rising so quickly?
Part of the steep rise in sextortion cases has to do with state-led Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task forces pushing for more public information, Crowe said. By doing outreach and education campaigns on sextortion, that has given more people knowledge of what to be on the lookout for, not to mention access to the CyberTipline.
For the first time, too, online companies are doing more to scan their networks to identify and report suspicious user accounts to the CyberTipline.
But there's also no bottom to the internet. It's a vast network with seemingly endless access points for criminal behaviors. If you're able to connect with anybody, Crowe said, that means anyone, including people who are intent on causing harm.
How do criminals find children to sextort?
Perpetrators send out mass quantities of friend requests to groups they intend on targeting, Crowe said. And once they get someone willing to engage, they build rapport and establish trust.
Once that happens, they'll have the child switch to another platform to continue their conversation, one that is more secure. Sometimes, these platforms use disappearing messages. Sometimes, they have end-to-end encryption, which makes it extremely hard for outside parties to track conversations taking place.
"That's when the actual sextortion starts to happen. They've already built their rapport and a seeming friendship with that potential victim," Crowe said.
Are any apps more common than others for sextorting children?
Crowe said he's seen these crimes take place across all platforms, which is what makes it particularly scary. His task force has seen these crimes take place on popular social media sites, but also blog sites and gaming apps.
Naming one app over another isn't necessarily helpful, Crowe said.
"We want to focus on the actual behavior itself, because we want people to use the internet responsibly," Crowe said.
Are there any patterns to who is committing sextortion crimes?
Many sextortion cases come from international organizations, Crowe said, and both domestic and international suspects have been identified.
Further, "organizations" in some cases is a generous categorization. Sometimes it's just two people in a country colluding on these crimes. Other times, it's a criminal enterprise doing this as a massive money maker.
How can I protect my children or students from being sextorted?
Start the conversation about online safety with your child, and do it early and often, Crowe said. Many children are using tablets at very young ages.
Emphasize the importance of online safety and how to responsibly use technology.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has tip sheets to help parents and guardians explain to children what healthy relationships look like, and also how to identify and report online criminal activities.
If you believe you or someone you know is the victim of sextortion or other forms of child exploitation, report the incident on the CyberTipline. To speak to someone directly, contact 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). The phoneline is available 24/7.
If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
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One of three people charged with child neglect last summer sentenced
Milana Doné
RACINE — An Oshkosh man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday in connection to three young boys being found naked outside a motel room in June 2024.
Jarrel Gordon, 26, was charged with three counts of neglecting a child. The charges recognize that the children were younger than 6 and not specifically harmed.
He pleaded guilty to one count, and also was ordered to serve two years of extended supervision.
The remaining two counts were dismissed but read into the court record.
Allegations
Gordon, the father of the three children, was charged alongside the children's mother, 26-year-old Kayla Ritchie, and their uncle, 24-year-old Dalton Ritchie.
When Mount Pleasant police arrived at the motel on June 10, 2024, the children, two 5-year-olds and a 3-year-old, reportedly were naked and playing outside one of the rooms.
According to a criminal complaint, police had responded to the same location for similar complaints three times prior.
The first officer who arrived reported seeing several puddles of liquid, assumed to be urine, draining from just outside the motel room onto the pavement of the parking lot.
Police reported that the door to the motel room was half open and that the room was in disarray — with feces, clothing, refuse and dirty diapers strewn around the room.
Officers also reportedly found and seized a marijuana pipe.
Dalton Ritchie was reportedly sleeping on a soiled mattress in the back of the room. Shortly after the police woke Dalton Ritchie, who reportedly confirmed that he was temporarily responsible for the children, Gordon arrived.
According to a police report, Gordon said he knew the latch on the door was broken and that the two oldest children were able to open the door.
Kayla Ritchie arrived later and reportedly told police that the family moved into the room a month prior. She also reportedly said that she had been absent since the previous Friday because of her job.
According to the criminal complaint, all three individuals knew the children could open the door and leave the room.
On June 16 of this year, Kayla Ritchie was found guilty of one count of neglecting a child. Two identical counts were dismissed but read into the court record. Her sentence was withheld and she was placed on one year of probation.
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