Former Greenwood school aide appears in court for alleged assault of student

A former Greenwood School District employee made an initial appearance Tuesday in Clark County Circuit Court on four felony charges related to alleged sexual contact with a student. Dylan North, 25, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will be arraigned on June 8.

North was charged on March 17 with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff and single counts of child enticement/sexual contact and exposing a child to harmful material. He posted a $500 cash bond and a $10,000 signature bond the following day and is not in custody.

North worked as a special education assistant in the Greenwood schools from August 2019 to Nov. 4, 2021, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. He was also a basketball coach from 2015-20 and was to be the head varsity boys basketball coach for the 2021-22 season before he was suspended shortly after the investigation into the allegations began. North resigned from his employment in January. Greenwood police were first made aware of the allegations against North on Oct. 21, 2021. The investigation was turned over to the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, with Detective Aaron Ruggles first interviewing the first alleged victim on Nov. 1. He also interviewed witnesses with information regarding the alleged victim’s relationship with North. Ruggles was informed that North had Snapchat and other electronic contact with the alleged victim, and that some of the messages may have contained nude photographs or requests for nude images.

In a second interview with the alleged victim on Nov. 8, she told Ruggles about sexual contact she had with North on several occasions. The Sheriff’s Department obtained a search warrant for North’s residence and executed it on Dec. 10. They seized North’s electronic devices at that time, and a forensic search of his phone showed repeated contacts with the alleged victim.

Ruggles also interviewed a second subject who is identifi ed as a victim in the complaint, and she said she also had electronic communication with North that included sharing of illicit photos.

North was represented in court on Tuesday by attorney Tori Nanstad. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing and Clark County Judge Lyndsey Brunette found probable cause to bind him over for further proceedings and scheduled an arraignment for June 8.

Greenwood School District Administrator Todd Felhofer released a statement regarding North on March 16. It read, in part, “We understand criminal proceedings have begun against a former school district employee. When the district was made aware of the initial complaint the district immediately reported the situation to law enforcement. The employee was put on administrative leave to protect our students and staff pending the outcome of the investigation. The district cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout the investigative process. The employee resigned from all district employment positions in late January. The district has contacted the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to inquire about licensure revocation for this former employee.”