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• Reports show UW-Stout fire victims were drunk
• Former teacher sentenced to nine months jail for sexual assault

Toxicology reports released Tuesday showed that the three University of Wisconsin-Stout students who died in an April 5 off-campus fire had blood-alcohol levels two-to-four times the minimum for intoxication.

Scott Hams, 23, Hayward; April Englund, 21, West St. Paul, Minn.; and Amanda Rief, 20, Chaska, Minn., all died in the fire.

The chancellor of UW-Stout reacted to the reports by saying that the university has to renew efforts to curb student drinking.

"This does not make their deaths any less tragic; this does mean that as a campus, we need to review our efforts to ensure we do whatever possible to curb alcohol abuse among members of the UW-Stout community because this is a serious issue of public health and safety," said Charles W. Sorensen, in a released statement.

Sorenson said that the university has a highly-regarded comprehensive approach to combating alcohol abuse on campus, which he said has contributed to a slow but continuous improvement in efforts to reduce high-risk drinking.

"Through the University Counseling Center, the UW-Stout Alcohol and Other Drug Education Program provides a variety of services related to alcohol and other drug prevention, intervention, assessment and counseling," Sorenson said.

He added that university officials are working on a campaign against what he called "high-risk" drinking.

"The chancellor's coalition on alcohol and other drugs is working on a marketing campaign to spread the word even more effectively that the personal choice to be smart and healthy does not include high-risk drinking," Sorenson said.

"We need to continue to spread the message that any student who drinks to excess puts himself or herself in danger, that if you drink too much, you can't keep yourself or your friends safe," he concluded.

The fire took place in a two-story structure at 1415 8th St. E. and was called in at around 3:30 a.m.

An investigation of the fire was conducted by the Menomonie Police and Fire Departments along with the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation - Arson Bureau.

Their investigation found that the fire originated in the living room area, primarily related to a love seat.

However, investigators were not able to discover what caused the fire to start.

Officials did discover used cigarettes in the living room area, but are not sure if they had a role in starting the blaze.

By Jason Schulte, RiverTowns staff

The former Prescott teacher accused of sexual assault learned her fate Wednesday.

Anne Knopf, 39, pled guilty in Pierce County Circuit Court to one count of second degree sexual assault of a child. As a result, she was sentenced to nine months jail and five years probation.

Additional terms include no contact with the victim or any male under the age of 18. Knopf also must undergo sex offender assessment and register as a sexual offender for the rest of her life.

"This was an unusual case to say the least," said Pierce County District Attorney John O'Boyle, explaining that his office has seen past cases in this regard in which the offender was a male.

A two-day jury trial was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, but O'Boyle said a plea agreement was reached after physical evidence corroborated what the victim, a 13-year-old boy, alleged that intercourse took place.

"The boy wasn't at fault in this case," said Circuit Court Judge Robert Wing. " This was a series of acts, not just one incident."

Knopf was initially charged last October. According to the criminal complaint, the incident stems back to last May, when the victim's father became suspicious as his son took his mother's car and drove to Knopf's house. He confronted Knopf and asked if his son was inside her home, she replied no.

He was later discovered at the residence, but initially offered another excuse for his presence there. He then told Pierce County sheriff's deputies a second time that he was there as just friends and that he was only talking with Knopf.

The complaint states the relationship between the two allegedly commenced via e-mail and messaging activities that, unbeknownst to the victim and Knopf, his father had watched within the last couple of weeks prior to the May incident.

"What they didn't realize is that I had already made copies of the e-mails," the father said in an earlier complaint, which resulted in a two-year injunction being placed against her.

Included in those e-mails and instant messages were statements about how much they loved each other, they missed each other and wanted to get together again.

The boy later admitted to sheriff's investigators that the two had sexual contact, including kissing and intercourse. When asked how many times the two met, the boy said between three to five times.

For more please read the July 23 print version of the Herald.