Former 5th grade teacher avoids prison time for inappropriately touching students

A former fifth grade teacher at Basswood Elementary School in Maple Grove will serve probation after he pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching girls in his classroom.

Wayne Clifford Wallace, 64, pleaded guilty in June to four gross misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. On Wednesday, a judge sentenced him to 60 days of work release and two years of supervised probation.

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According to a criminal complaint, several girls came forward saying Wallace had touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable, including touching their buttocks and rubbing their thighs and shoulders.

Other witnesses reported Wallace asking girls to sit on his lap, touching the inside of a student’s waistband, asking a girl to rub his back and offering candy in exchange for a kiss, among other acts, a criminal complaint states.

Wallace received two verbal warnings from school administrators before authorities began a criminal investigation. Four of the victims interviewed were students of Wallace from 2022-23.

According to Osseo Area Schools, Wallace was employed at Basswood Elementary School from August 2009 through December 2023.
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