The retired Marion teacher who was convicted on two felony counts of repeated sexual abuse of a child will spend the next eight years in prison.
Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge John Hoffmann sentenced Edward Marquardt, 61, after a hearing Wednesday, Oct. 17.
In addition to incarceration, Marquardt was placed on 10 years of extended supervision and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Hoffmann also prohibited Marquardt from working or volunteering in a position that would allow him to be in contact with children under age 16.
The Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department began investigating the case in July 2011, after two boys came forward accusing Marquardt of molesting them.
Detective Sgt. John Mocadlo interviewed a 14-year-old boy who said he had been helping Marquardt on his farm in the town of Dupont for about three years.
He said Marquardt had also been tutoring him and his 12-year-old brother.
The boy and his younger brother said Marquardt had touched them inappropriately when each of them was sitting next to him during the tutoring lessons.
The 14-year-old boy said Marquardt had been touching him at least once or twice a week for about a year.
During most of the incidents, both Marquardt and the boys were clothed.
However, on at least two occasions, Marquardt exposed himself, according to the criminal complaint.
They also said Marquardt had talked about having sex with animals.
Investigators later arranged for the older boy to have a recorded telephone conversation with Marquardt.
During the conversation, Marquardt admitted to touching the boy’s lap with the back of his hand.
According to court documents, when the boy asked if he had ever been involved with other children in the past, Marquardt said his record was clear.
hen, the boy asked if there had ever been incidents “off the record.” Marquardt said yes.
When questioned by investigators, Marquardt said he was a “sexaholic” and that he had been “hospitalized for it and just could not control himself.”
Marquardt later said he had been molested by an older male cousin when he was between the ages of 6 and 11. He said the cousin had encouraged him to have sex with animals.
Marquardt told investigators that he had sex with goats almost weekly from his boyhood until he reached the age of 51. His wife divorced him after learning about his involvement with animals in 1985.
Marquardt taught at Marion High School for 31 years.
During the first eight years of his teaching career, he was also a counselor at the Wisconsin Lions Camp for disabled children in Rosholt.
In 1985, according to court documents, Shawano County authorities questioned Marquardt after a teenage, boy who had been at the Lions Camp, reported a suspicious incident several years after it occurred.