A Dane County court has denied former Madison music teacher Eliav Goldman's request to dismiss the felony grooming charge against him, keeping both counts intact in a case built on nearly 130,000 text messages exchanged with a 15-year-old student. The 30-year-old was charged in March with grooming a child for sexual activity and sexual misconduct by school staff or a volunteer, and online court records now show his motion to drop the grooming count was rejected on September 30.
According to WMTV 15 News, Goldman and his attorneys filed the request to dismiss the grooming charge in July, arguing over the scope of the new statute. Court records cited by the station show that bid failed, leaving Goldman facing both the grooming charge and the sexual misconduct charge as his case moves toward trial. The denial marks a significant early test of Wisconsin's grooming law, since Goldman was arrested on March 27 — just 19 days after the statute took effect — making his prosecution one of the first major cases brought under it, according to the Milwaukee Criminal Lawyer analysis of the new law.
A Relationship That Started With a Prank Text
Goldman taught music and choir at Vel Phillips Memorial High School and Toki Middle School before he was fired from his teaching position in March, per WMTV 15 News. A criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court alleges that Goldman and the student exchanged nearly 130,000 text messages over roughly a year and a half, a volume The Safe Schools Project reports included about 20,000 messages in March 2026 alone — after the student had initially texted him as a prank.
Investigators detailed in court filings that the communications escalated to daily “I love you” texts and private meetings inside a school auditorium booth, along with physical contact and attempts to arrange meetings off school grounds, per the same account from The Safe Schools Project. Beyond his teaching posts, Goldman had also worked with local youth-serving organizations, including the Children's Theater of Madison and Madison Youth Choirs, according to Seehafer News.
District Moved Fast, Then Police Followed
Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard placed Goldman on administrative leave on March 20 and launched an internal district review alongside police, announcing a zero-tolerance stance on student safety, according to WTMJ. District staff flagged the relationship that same day before referring the matter to police, the station reported. Madison Police then arrested Goldman on March 27, and he was formally charged with grooming of a child for sexual activity and sexual misconduct by school staff or a volunteer.
At Goldman's initial court appearance on March 31 in Dane County Circuit Court, prosecutors requested $20,000 cash bail, but a court commissioner set bail at $5,000 with conditions barring him from school properties and from contact with minors, per Dane County Crime. Goldman posted bond and was released from Dane County Jail shortly after the hearing, according to that same report.
A New Law Built for Cases Like This
Governor Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 88 into law on March 6, creating a standalone felony offense for child grooming under Wis. Stat. § 948.072 that carries up to a Class F felony penalty of 12 years and 6 months in prison when committed by someone in a position of trust or authority over a minor, according to the Office of Governor Tony Evers. Before Act 88 took effect two days later, Wisconsin lacked a direct criminal statute targeting the grooming process itself, separate from a completed assault.
Goldman also faces a charge under Wis. Stat. § 948.08 and § 948.095, which classify sexual misconduct or sexual assault of a student by school staff or a volunteer, per the Van Severen Law Office. A companion measure, 2025 Wisconsin Act 89, requires every Wisconsin school board to adopt formal policies governing staff-student communication by September 1, 2026, and to implement annual anti-grooming training for all personnel starting in the 2026-2027 school year, according to Quarles & Brady LLP.
The push behind both laws followed a Cap Times investigation that found Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction investigated more than 200 cases of educator sexual misconduct or grooming between 2018 and 2023 that were kept from public view, a report lawmakers cited during legislative hearings.
What Comes Next
With the dismissal motion denied, Goldman's case proceeds toward trial on both felony counts in Dane County Circuit Court. It remains unclear whether his defense team will pursue further challenges to the grooming statute's scope, and the outcome of the Madison Metropolitan School District's internal administrative review has not been announced.
