More victims come forward; sex assault charges against former La Crosse show choir co-director increase

Charges of sexually assaulting a second child have been added to La Crosse County’s case against show choir director Dustin Bagstad. 

The four newest counts, filed on Tuesday, date back to activities in 2010. That brings the total charges to 19 in all.

Bagstad, a former part-time employee with the La Crosse School District, was placed on leave Dec. 10, when he was first accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Logan High School student in choir over more than a year.  He has since resigned from the district.

The newest complaint quotes “Victim B,” a former Central High School student, as saying that her first sexual encounter with Bagstad was also when she was a 15-year-old high school student in show choir.

She described a series of events, similar to Bagstad’s first alleged victim; a slow, predatory, confidence-building process beginning early in high school, culminating in a sexual assault and then continuing on after that.

They reportedly had a sexual relationship for several months, and she said Bagstad unexpectedly traveled to Florida to see her while she was on a vacation trip with a friend’s family.

She recalled returning to the rental home to find Bagstad waiting outside.

She said her friend’s parents knew of him from show choir and let him stay on their couch for the night, according to the report. He left the next day.

The complaint goes on to describe encounters with several other former and current students all of whom had varying levels of inappropriate conversations through different mediums, like Snapchat, while they were in high school. 

In some cases Bagstad allegedly sent pictures of himself in his underwear.  He would also ask for pictures from the victims.  Some victims described Bagstad as “creepy” and “touchy.”

A couple of former students claimed he kissed them.

One alleged victim described a level of confusion based on the expectation that the district had hired Bagstad to be a coach and she was supposed to trust him.  And yet, she claimed, while she was sixteen or seventeen, Bagstad would ask her to have sex while giving her rides home.

One victim suggested to police there might be other victims who are not willing to come forward at this time.