KENOSHA, Wis. — A former middle school teacher convicted of having an inappropriate online relationship with a student was released from jail three months early, leaving the victim's family and the district attorney saying they were caught off guard.
READ ALSO | Parents of Christian Enwright's alleged victim in Kenosha speak out
Christian Enwright, a former Kenosha Unified School District middle school teacher, was placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2024 after allegations surfaced that he had an inappropriate online relationship with one of his students. He was later charged and pleaded guilty to 22 counts of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 450 days in jail.
On Friday, Enwright was released three months early.
Watch: Former Kenosha teacher convicted of disorderly conduct released early
The parents of Enwright's victim, who wish to remain anonymous, said they learned about the release through social media.
"We had just seen it on social media before your text, we kinda were like wow in shock, disappointed," the parents said.
The family said they received no advance notice that their daughter's perpetrator was being let out of custody.
"We had zero knowledge that he was coming out Friday. Zero knowledge," a parent said.
"Being the parents of a victim, who's a minor when this happened, do you think you should've been alerted and given a heads up he was going to be released back into the community?" Chief Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae asked.
"Absolutely. He's back in our neighborhood. Kenosha's not a big city," a parent responded.
Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis said he also was not informed of the early release.
"I guess it's somewhat upsetting due to the fact that we tried to get the most sentence out of the case," Solis said.
Solis said he was aware Enwright had been granted credit for time already served before sentencing, but said he did not know Enwright would be released even earlier due to work crew credit earned while incarcerated.
"It's up to the sheriff's office if they're gonna grant an individual work crew or not. They're the ones that track that, and it's up to them how they're going to use that credit," Solis explained.
In an email from the Kenosha County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, TMJ4 News was told: "our work crew program is in-house only (we no longer have an external work crew). Work crew participants assist within the facility, primarily in the kitchen and laundry, and some inmates who volunteer for the program receive custody credit for the time they participate."
We also attempted to speak with Enwright at his home Tuesday. A woman who answered the door said it was not a good time.
On the same day Enwright was released, Governor Tony Evers signed a new bill into law making the sexual grooming of a child a felony.
Solis said he believes the new law will make a difference.
"I believe it's going to protect the community, it's going to protect our students. It will protect our children," Solis said.
The victim's parents said they hope the legislation marks a turning point.
"We just hope that this is the starting point and they can continue to make it harder on these people to prey on children," a parent said.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
