Facebook Amanda Eckblad
Amanda Eckblad, a former Wisconsin high school truancy program worker, is accused of buying a handgun for an underage convicted felon and making a sex tape with a 17-year-old boy.
The charges against the 22-year-old Racine woman – who has a criminal justice degree – came first in May 2018. Next, authorities socked Eckblad, who filled her Facebook page with selfie photos, of child pornography and sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Eckblad Is Accused of Recording Video of Herself Having Sex With the Teen
Amanda Eckblad
On July 5, 2018, authorities hit the young woman with serious charges: Eckblad was charged with Possession of Child Pornography, which is a class D Felony, and Sexual Intercourse with a Child 16 or Older, according to Wisconsin court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 12, 2018. Cash bond of $25,000 was set.
The teenager has the same three initials and age as the youth in the gun case. Heavy is not identifying him because he was underage. According to Fox 6, the boy lived with Eckblad, and the alleged sex tape was found after authorities executed a search warrant on her phone.
“Investigators found a video showing Eckblad having sex with the boy,” the television station reported.
Amanda Eckblad
It’s not clear how Eckblad and the boy met.
2. Eckblad Was Accused of Buying a Teenage Boy a Gun
Amanda Eckblad
In May 2018, Eckblad was charged in a separate criminal case with being a straw purchaser. Straw purchasing occurs when a person who can legally buy a firearm purchases one for a person who can not. She was arraigned in that case in mid-June. She was ordered not to have contact with the teenager and “ordered not to possess or control any weapons,” Wisconsin court records say.
According to The Racine Journal Times, Eckblad landed on authorities’ radar screen after a shots fired incident in April 2018. They realized that she might have been the purchaser of the gun that authorities found at the scene – a weapon purchased from a local Dunham’s Sports store.
FacebookAmanda Eckblad
She was also accused of telling friends that the 17-year-old felon to whom she allegedly gave the gun told her in a jailhouse call to claim the gun was stolen.
The teenage boy was convicted in 2017 of substantial battery-intend harm, according to court records. Charges of battery by prisoners and disorderly conduct were dismissed and read-in. He was sentenced to 18 months probation with a stayed jailed term and ordered to attend school and stay away from controlled substances. As a result, he was not allowed to possess a gun under Wisconsin law.
He’s now also charged as an adult with possessing a firearm as a felony and discharging a firearm within 100 yards of a building as a repeater, Wisconsin court records show. He will be sentenced in August 2018. The state is requesting incarceration for three years with three years extended supervision and that he be allowed to participate in a jail AODA program.
3. Amanda Eckblad Is a College Graduate Who Was an Intern for a Local County
Amanda Eckblad
According to her LinkedIn page, Amanda Eckblad is an University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate in criminal justice, sociology, and juvenile justice.
She wrote on Facebook that she was a “former Youth & Delinquincy (sic) Intern at Racine County Human Services Department” who was from Racine, Wisconsin. She filled her Facebook page with selfies and photos with pets, doing outdoor activities, and with family.
In 2017, she wrote on Facebook, “Finally got approved to graduate in August. Graduating a year early & I’m already hired full time in my field ?? God is great.”
A friend wrote, “Congratulations on your early graduation, Amanda. You are unbelievably hardworking, smart, and a role model. Are you taking any classes this summer or are you totally done? Where did you get a job? I’m SOOO proud of you.”
“Thank you so much!! ❤️” Eckblad responded. “I am taking four summer classes, math, psychology, a music class, and police & society. & im working for kenosha human development services, working one on one in a temporary home for troubled teenagers- delinquents, those in need of protection, or truancy kids!”
4. Eckblad Worked in a Truancy Program at the High School, Worked With Juvenile Delinquent Youths & Wore a ‘Support Blue’ T Shirt
Amanda Eckblad
In 2014, Eckblad graduated from Jerome I. Case High School. She later returned to work there through what Fox 6 describes as “an organization contracted by the Racine Unified School District.” According to her LinkedIn page, Eckblad worked for Schulte Elementary & Renaissance School Professional Services Group, Inc. and was a “school engagement worker” at Case High School.
WISN-TV confirmed with the Racine school district that Eckblad “worked in the truancy abatement program at Case High School last school year and won’t be back.”
She described her duties on LinkedIn as “Working one on one with a case load of students helping promote academic success. Case load contains students with attendance/grade issues and students transitioning from Alternative Education Professional Services Group, Inc.”
Eckblad once posted a photo on Facebook showing her wearing a “Support Blue” T shirt and explained in the comment thread, “I got it from a law enforcement fundraiser last year, I don’t think they’re being sold anymore. There’s k9 ones still being sold though.”
She also posted a survey on drunk driving for a research methods class in 2015.
On LinkedIn, she wrote that she was a “Shelter Parent at Kenosha Human Development Services” and a teaching parent there. She said the employment started in November 2016 and described her duties as “Assisting troubled youth with life transitions.”
She also worked as an after-school teacher for the local YMCA.
Eckblad wrote on LinkedIn that she was also an “ACE Youth Worker” whose duties included “working with youth sentenced in the Alternatives to Corrections Program in Racine Juvenile Detention Center.” She was also an administrative assistant for a local realtor.
In addition, she worked as a summer day camp counselor.
5. Multiple Educational Workers in the United States Have Ended Up in Trouble With the Law for Alleged Sex Offenses
Female teachers accused of sex crimes in the U.S.
Female teachers or educational professionals ending up in mugshots has become a too common phenomenon over the past few years. Kayla Sprinkles was one of the latest. Haley Reed, a high school choir director, was accused in the rape of a student. Miranda Pauley, a former biology teacher, was accused of taking indecent liberties with a minor.
Cassandra White, an English teacher in Oklahoma, was even accused of taking out a marriage license with a teenage boy. Hunter Day, an Oklahoma teacher, was accused of sending nude photos to a student. Among other recent cases: Loryn Barclay, a former substitute teacher at a Missouri High School, was accused of having sexual contact multiple times with a 17-year-old boy. Shawnetta Reece, a gym teacher from Georgia, was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old boy.
Tracy Miller, a West Virginia teacher, was accused of sending nude photos to students. Nataly Lopez, a 27-year-old former substitute teacher at a middle school in New Jersey, was accused of having sexual contact with a student. Lindsey Jarvis, a 27-year-old middle school teacher’s aide, was accused of the rape and sodomy of a student who was under the age of 16. Jarvis was arrested in Fayette County, Kentucky, on June 16. Then there’s Laura Ramos. She is a 31-year-old Connecticut high school teacher who is accused of having sex with a special education student. And there’s Tiffany Geliga.
