Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Woman charged with sexual assault of MPS student

- Alec Johnson

A woman who worked in MPS schools has been charged with sexually assaulting a student.

Oshai Williams, 31, was charged April 14 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with one count of sexual assault of a student by school staff. If convicted, Williams could face up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines, according to the criminal complaint.

At her initial appearance April 14, she was ordered to have no contact with the student and was also ordered not to possess weapons or firearms. She is being held on $5,000 cash bond. A preliminar­y hearing has been scheduled for April 23.

Milwaukee Public Schools’ director of communicat­ions and marketing Nicole Armendariz shared a statement from the district in an email to a reporter: “MPS is aware of misconduct allegation­s related to an individual who was contracted to perform work at one of our schools. The individual has never been an employee of Milwaukee Public Schools. In accordance with District policy and Federal and State law, the District does not comment on the circumstan­ces of our individual students and their families. MPS takes all matters seriously that impact the well-being, learning, and advancemen­t of our students. All personnel matters are addressed according to district policy.”

Attorney William Scott Nelson was listed in online court records as having been in court for Williams at her initial court appearance. Nelson, who is an attorney with the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Fond du Lac County office, did not immediatel­y respond to a reporter’s phone call seeking comment. According to the complaint:

Williams was questioned Feb. 1 in connection with a shooting incident earlier that day and admitted to driving a student when he fired over 30 shots into a house. She said in that interview that she had met the student when she was working at Marshall High School in Milwaukee and he was a student there.

Williams said she had known the student for about one year and admitted their relationsh­ip was inappropri­ate “but stopped short of saying she is sexually active with him,” the complaint said.

Also in the Feb. 1 interview, Williams said she was employed at Thurston Woods Elementary School as a classroom coach and that earlier that day, she picked up the student from Banner Prep High School at the end of his school day, the complaint said.

The student later confirmed with a Bureau of Child Welfare staff member that he met Williams at Marshall High School. The student said he and Williams started hanging out after school at Williams’ house while Williams’ daughters, ages 4 and 12, were present. The student said the relationsh­ip turned intimate, and they “mutually agreed to date and have sexual intercours­e even though Ms. Williams knew he was only 17 years old and was an underage child.” The incidents took place between Sept. 25, 2023, and Feb. 1, 2024, the complaint said.

“He reported that Ms. Williams and himself had been dating for several months and spent majority of the time at her home with her daughters,” the complaint said.

Williams was charged in February in connection to the shooting case. She faces two felonies in that case: one count of second-degree recklessly endangerin­g safety, as party to a crime and use of a dangerous weapon, and one count of discharge of a firearm as a party to a crime, according to online court records. She is slated for a scheduling conference May 9 in connection with that incident.

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