A 36-year-old former New Ulm teacher is facing a criminal charge after she allegedly kneed a 6-year-old student in the back during an incident at a specialized classroom program in February. Stephanie Ruth Wurtzberger was charged with one count of malicious punishment of a child in Brown County District Court, months after the alleged encounter unfolded inside River Bend Education District's Imprints Program.
The incident happened on Feb. 19 at the intermediate district's New Ulm facility, according to charges reported by Bring Me The News. Wurtzberger wrote in her own account of the incident that the student hit his back on her knee while she was taking an object away from him after he allegedly threatened himself with it, per the criminal complaint. But when investigators later spoke with the student, using an interpreter, he gave a different version, stating that Wurtzberger grabbed his shirt, pulled him back and lowered him to the ground before her knee ended up in the middle of his back.
The student told investigators the incident hurt him and made him feel scared, according to the complaint. He was also heard screaming that his back hurt, one paraprofessional in the classroom told investigators. Two paraprofessionals who witnessed the encounter gave statements to investigators describing Wurtzberger's actions as intentional, aggressive, and not a reasonable or necessary use of force; a second paraprofessional said the actions appeared intended to harm the student out of frustration, per the complaint.
Resignation Came Before Police Got the Report
School board records show the timeline took an unusual turn before the case ever reached police. The River Bend Education District board accepted Wurtzberger's resignation during its Feb. 24 meeting, effective that same day. New Ulm Police did not receive a confidential report involving Wurtzberger and the 6-year-old student until the following day, Feb. 25.
Wurtzberger had joined River Bend for the 2025–2026 school year as an Imprints science teacher, after previously working at Sleepy Eye Public Schools since being hired there in April 2019. The Imprints Program serves K-12 students with emotional and behavioral needs using the Boys Town Educational Model, and River Bend itself functions as an intermediate special education district providing shared services to 10 member districts across southern Minnesota.
Training Failure Raises Compliance Questions
Charging documents noted that Wurtzberger had failed her Crisis Prevention Intervention training earlier in the school year, and the Minnesota Department of Education confirmed she was not certified in the program, per the charges. A restrictive procedures form connected to the incident described the student lying on his side with his arms crossed in front of his shoulders and pulled toward his back.
Under Minnesota Statute § 125A.0942, physical holds in schools may only be used in emergency situations to protect someone from immediate physical injury, and the law explicitly bars using restrictive procedures to discipline or punish a student. Separately, Minnesota Department of Education guidance updated in June 2023 requires districts to report any physical restraint executed by an untrained or unauthorized staff member as a restrictive procedure violation, raising open questions about how River Bend tracked interventions by staff who lacked the required certification.
When officers reached out to Wurtzberger during the investigation, she declined to make a statement without an attorney present, according to Ingstad Media. Charges were formally filed in Brown County District Court on Aug. 4, nearly six months after the alleged incident.
What a Conviction Could Mean
Malicious punishment of a child is defined under Minnesota law as an intentional act showing unreasonable force or cruel discipline that is excessive under the circumstances. As a gross misdemeanor, the charge Wurtzberger faces carries a maximum penalty of up to 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both, under Minnesota Statute § 609.377.
The case fits a pattern seen elsewhere in Minnesota this year involving educators and caregivers accused of using excessive physical force on children in their care. Hoodline previously covered a Plymouth daycare abuse suit after a staffer there pleaded guilty to a similar gross misdemeanor malicious punishment charge. As with any criminal case, the allegations against Wurtzberger remain unproven and must be established beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
