Wayne Clifford Wallace, a former fifth-grade teacher at Basswood Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minnesota, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to four gross misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct for inappropriately touching female students during the 2022-23 school year. A Hennepin County judge sentenced him to 60 days in the county workhouse and two years of supervised probation, and the state revoked his Minnesota teaching license days later.1Star Tribune. Workhouse for Twin Cities Man Who Inappropriately Touched Girls in His 5th-Grade Class
What He Was Accused of Doing
Wallace worked for the Osseo School District from August 2009 through December 19, 2023. The conduct at issue took place between September 2022 and June 2023, when he was teaching fifth grade at Basswood Elementary.2KSTP. Former 5th-Grade Teacher Avoids Prison Time for Inappropriately Touching Students Police interviewed four students who reported being inappropriately touched, and classmates who witnessed the behavior corroborated their accounts.3CBS News Minnesota. Former Maple Grove Elementary School Teacher Charged Criminal Sexual Conduct
According to the criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, the conduct included spanking students, touching girls on the buttocks under the guise of a “static electricity” demonstration, rubbing students’ thighs and shoulders, touching the inside of a girl’s waistband, having girls sit on his lap, asking a student to rub his back, and demanding a kiss in exchange for candy. Wallace also allegedly whistled at a student and made comments about her skirt.4Star Tribune. Despite Earlier Warnings, Twin Cities 5th-Grade Teacher Kept Sexually Touching Girls, Charges Say
The Minnesota Department of Education alerted police to the allegations in late 2023, after school personnel reached out to former female students and those students reported the conduct. Prosecutors filed charges on February 20, 2025. Wallace, then 63 and living in Maple Grove, was charged by summons and was not taken into custody.3CBS News Minnesota. Former Maple Grove Elementary School Teacher Charged Criminal Sexual Conduct
The Plea and Sentence
Wallace pleaded guilty on June 5, 2025, to all four gross misdemeanor counts.5Hometown Source. Former Osseo Schools Elementary Teacher Sentenced for Criminal Sexual Conduct With Students In August 2025, Hennepin County District Court Judge Michael Burns imposed 60 days in the Hennepin County workhouse and stayed a 364-day sentence for two years. Wallace was placed on two years of supervised probation, meaning any violation could send him back to serve the remaining jail time.1Star Tribune. Workhouse for Twin Cities Man Who Inappropriately Touched Girls in His 5th-Grade Class He was granted work release during the workhouse term, which began in September 2025.6Hometown Source. Former Maple Grove Teacher Sentenced to Serve 60 Days for Criminal Sexual Conduct
Probation conditions require Wallace to stay at least three blocks from the victims’ residences, schools, and places of employment; bar him from unsupervised contact with females under 18 without approval; prohibit any school employment involving minors; require a private psychological and psychosexual evaluation and completion of a sex offender treatment program; forbid firearms and ammunition; and prohibit leaving the state.1Star Tribune. Workhouse for Twin Cities Man Who Inappropriately Touched Girls in His 5th-Grade Class
Teaching License Revoked
Wallace had held a Minnesota teaching license since 1985. Two days after his sentencing, on August 15, 2025, the state’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board revoked it, according to board spokesperson Tanwaporn Chino.1Star Tribune. Workhouse for Twin Cities Man Who Inappropriately Touched Girls in His 5th-Grade Class
The District Had Warned Him Twice
The Osseo School District confirmed that Wallace received two verbal warnings from administrators about touching female students before the criminal investigation began, and the conduct continued after those warnings.4Star Tribune. Despite Earlier Warnings, Twin Cities 5th-Grade Teacher Kept Sexually Touching Girls, Charges Say The district said Wallace was the subject of a single formal complaint during his 14 years at Basswood Elementary.7Fox 9. Parent Slams Osseo School Board Over Former Teacher Accusations His last day of employment, December 19, 2023, coincided with the time the allegations became public. The district has not announced policy changes tied to the case, and no public reporting identifies consequences for the administrators who issued the earlier warnings. No civil lawsuit by victims’ families against Wallace or the district has been publicly reported.