Courts

School choir director pleads guilty to 5 sexual assault charges

Published

5 years ago

December 17, 2018

Dustin Bagstad (seated, left) appears with his attorney Keith Belzer (standing) at a plea hearing in La Crosse on Monday

A former high school choir director in La Crosse pleads guilty to five charges of sexually assaulting a child.

Dustin Bagstad had faced 19 criminal counts of assaulting two underage girls over several years.

Fourteen of those charges are being dismissed as part of a negotiated plea.

The 34-year-old Bagstad admitted to the charges of sexually assaulting one 15-year-old girl repeatedly over several months.

Bagstad had been a co-director of show choirs in the La Crosse School District.

He could receive up to 125 years in prison when he’s sentenced on April 8th.

Related Topics:choir director dustin bagstad sexual assault

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.