Statement Regarding Whitehorse Middle School Investigation

The Madison Police Department (MPD) was alerted at approximately 10:50 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25, of an allegation of a physical and sexual assault of a child by staff at Whitehorse Middle School.  The MPD takes all allegations of physical and sexual assaults very seriously particularly when the alleged victims are children. The MPD has dedicated significant investigative resources to this case, but work has been made significantly more difficult by allegations made via social media posts. These allegations were often not based on factual evidence and were distracting and potentially harmful to the investigation and to uninvolved people. Conducting an impartial, fair and complete investigation takes time and despite these delays, the MPD has nearly completed its investigation.  There is no evidence to corroborate the allegation of a physical or sexual assault to this child. There is a significant amount of evidence that directly contradicts the allegations that were made. 

The MPD Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a specialized group of detectives dedicated to investigating crimes against children. To date, in 2025, SVU investigated 352 cases, made 73 individual arrests and referrals to the Dane County District attorney's office and conducted 23 residential search warrants.  Crimes against children require additional subject matter expertise, and the SVU detectives are specially trained in interviewing children. There is an abundance of scientific evidence that children are particularly susceptible to leading questions and an untrained person can unintentionally lead a child to a particular answer, which can result in false accusations. The MPD is always committed to completing investigations in a fair and impartial manner.

Last Friday, when the MPD was contacted by the alleged victim’s mother, the SVU Detective Lieutenant was consulted, and an investigative plan was developed. Detectives worked on this case over the weekend and throughout the following week. 

The initial report placed the time of the alleged assault as occurring between 11:26 a.m. and 12:43 p.m. on Oct. 23, at an address on Margaret Street. This timeframe was based on readings the child’s mother observed from the GPS tracker the student was wearing while at school.

There are video cameras throughout Whitehorse Middle School.  A thorough review of Whitehorse video was completed by detectives. The video places the student and both alleged suspects in the building during the same timeframe of the alleged assault. MPD detectives also interviewed teachers and staff at Whitehorse, who placed both the student and alleged suspects in the building during the timeframe of the alleged assault. Multiple staff members verified that the student and alleged suspects did not leave the building and nothing inappropriate occurred.

SVU detectives also conducted an interview with the child that did not corroborate the allegations.

The residents of the Margaret Street address were interviewed. They showed no involvement or awareness of the student or the situation, prior to the social media posts. Neighbors on Margaret Street were interviewed and had not seen or heard anything of concern on Oct. 23.

This investigation began based on information resulting from a GPS tracker location. There is a term known as GPS drift that refers to a tracker giving a wrong location due to a weak or obstructed signal. The MPD cannot comment on exactly what caused the tracker to show the Margaret Street location. Although it is important for the public to recognize the sometimes-limited accuracy of these devices.

This investigation has garnered a tremendous amount of attention in large part due to the inaccurate posts on social media that were shared extensively. These social media posts in turn drove some to make serious threats to staff members at Whitehorse Middle School. There is an abundance of evidence that demonstrates that these staff members were not involved in any type of assault or wrongdoing. These threats must stop and the MPD will investigate and hold accountable anyone that is participating in or making threats to the safety of people in our community.