Former Viroqua school staff member arrested for alleged sexual contact with an underage victim

A staff member at Viroqua area schools has been arrested and accused of having sexual contact with underage victims. Per a joint release from the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office and the Reedsburg Police Department, police arrested 33-year-old Ashley Ann Benson of Coon Valley on Monday afternoon. Benson was employed at both a private and public K-12 school in the area, according to the release. According to the Viroqua Area Schools staff directory, she is listed as a library aide at the elementary school.  Benson was arrested for sex assault of a student by school staff, 2nd degree sexual assault of a child and sex with a child age 16 or older. Official charges are not yet filed, according to online court records. The investigation into allegations against Benson began in June after reports she’d had sexual contact with underage victims on multiple occasions at multiple locations, the release said. A $5,000.00 Signature Bond was ordered with conditions of no-contact with the victims and not to have any unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18 except for incidental contact in public places. Benson’s initial appearance has been scheduled for July 22nd, at 8:30 AM. Pending further investigation, additional charges are expected in Sauk County, and possibly other jurisdictions. If you have any information about these crimes, call the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office or the Reedsburg Police Department.