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A former Citrus County Schools substitute teacher, who had worked primarily in the district’s elementary schools, was removed from duties on Jan. 31 and arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior on Thursday, March 9.
Sprenger
On Jan. 31, Hernando Elementary School staff reported to the School Resource Deputy that a substitute teacher, Wolfgang Sprenger, 83, of Dunnellon, may have inappropriately touched some students.
“Upon learning of the allegations being levied against him on January 31st, we immediately removed Sprenger from all substitute teaching positions within our district and launched an investigation,” said Lindsay Blair, spokeswoman for Citrus County Schools.
Following his removal, Detective Jonathan Richey with the CCSO Special Victims Unit (SVU) was able to identify multiple juvenile victims, as well as several juveniles who had witnessed these acts.
All of the victims were interviewed at Jessie’s Place, the Citrus County Child Advocacy Center, where they stated that Sprenger had touched them inappropriately.
Several of the victims and witnesses reported during interviews that Sprenger would “put his hand on their back” with multiple saying he would then move his hand lower to one buttocks cheek and hold it there, according to the CCSO arrest affidavit. He would do this to several students in the class.
Sprenger also would sometimes rub their face and then move his hand down to their breast and hold his hand there, as well as hug them while telling them they did a good job and then move his hands to touch their buttocks or front private area, per the arrest affidavit.
The victims reported that he would tell the class scary stories, such as of a hitchhiker that was killed and kids being kidnapped and sold or getting their organs taken out, and then told them not to tell anyone. He rubbed two girls on the back at the same time while telling a story of him in a car being rubbed or touched, per the arrest affidavit.
He reportedly told students not to tell anyone, especially their parents, of what went on in the classroom and would attempt to block students from leaving the classroom to report what was going on.
Additionally, he made the classes look up the meaning of the word ‘pedophilia’ or its derivatives or words that had to do with sex, going as far as spelling it out for the students to search.
Detective Richey was able to obtain evidence which supported the victims’ statements, including video evidence and records of students’ school devices used to look up to word ‘pedophilia’ or its derivatives.
Soon after the investigation was completed, a warrant was issued and Sprenger was arrested March 9 for two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child less than 12, four counts of lewd and lascivious conduct and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a child. He is being held without bond at the Citrus County Detention Facility.
The parents of students who were directly involved were immediately notified of Sprenger’s arrest.
Sprenger began substitute teaching in Citrus County on Oct. 12, 2022, and worked in 11 schools before being removed from duties.
The schools where Sprenger was a substitute teacher are: Hernando Elementary School, Citrus Springs Elementary, Forest Ridge Elementary, Lecanto Middle, Homosassa Elementary, Lecanto Primary, Citrus Springs Middle, Crystal River Primary, Central Ridge Elementary, CREST and Lecanto High School.
“We understand this news will be unsettling for our students, families, and staff,” said Superintendent Sandra “Sam” Himmel. “The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, and we take any allegation of misconduct very seriously.”
The school district is encouraging anyone who has been affected by this situation to reach out to their child’s school administrator or the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
They also want to ensure everyone that Sprenger underwent a pre-employment drug test and Level II background screening just like all district employees and neither raised any cause for concern.
“This case exposes how a predator can and will work themselves into a position of trust to gain access to children,” said Sheriff Prendergast. “Sprenger violated the trust of the children he was supposed to teach and the trust our community placed in him. A classroom is supposed to be a nurturing and safe environment, not a playground for a predator like Sprenger. I hope this arrest will be the starting point on a journey of healing for his victims.”
Contact Chronicle Reporter Georgia Sullivan at 352-564-2929.
A public meeting begins Thursday, March 9, at the Florida National Guard Armory in Crystal River to inform the public about Phase 3 of the Suncoast Parkway. Those attending had an array of visuals to look over.
Scott Stewart, WBQ Design and Engineering Inc. deputy project manager, speaks with Crystal River resident Debra Thomas on Thursday evening at the Crystal River Armory during a Florida Department of Transportation public meeting offering insight into the planned Phase 3 of the Suncoast Parkway.
Clarence McMackin and his wife, Dr. Liudmila McMackin, discuss the planned route of Phase 3 of the Suncoast Parkway as it relates to their home on West Gum Street in Crystal River. The Florida Department of Transportation held a public meeting Thursday evening, March 9, at the Crystal River Armory to inform interested individuals about the plans for new construction of the toll road.
Clarence McMackin is worried the state will take his home near Pine Ridge by eminent domain because it may be in the way of the Suncoast Parkway expansion to County Road 486.
“They’re going to take my house to build it,” he said.
McMackin was one of scores of people who attended Thursday’s open house at the Florida National Guard Armory in Crystal River to learn more about the parkway extension projects.
Construction tentatively starts in April 2023 on extending the toll road another three miles, from its current terminus at State Road 44 to County Road 486, about 1,500 feet east of the Pine Ridge entrance.
From there, the toll road will eventually wind its way to U.S. 19.
“I’m going to fight it,” McMackin said after he and his wife talked with an FDOT official and viewed the maps at the open house.
McMaskin said he’s got 17 gopher tortoises on his five-acre property that need to be protected.
He also feels sorry for the business owners in Crystal River who will no longer have people driving by their shops and restaurants because of the bypass.
“All those mom-and-pop shops will shrivel up because there will no longer be tourists,” he said.
Diana Frick and her neighbors attended Thursday’s event to find out how it will affect access to their homes off Gum Street in Crystal River.
“We’re concerned that if they work on this project they will block Gum Street,” she said. We will not be able to get out of our subdivision. Will they put in a temporary road?”
Otherwise, Frick said, she has no problems with the parkway extension.
Steve Krukowski of Pine Ridge said he moved here for the rural tranquility and doesn’t want to see it destroyed by a major toll road going through his area.
“(County commissioners) want growth but we don’t,” he said.
FDOT spokesman Kerry French said the purpose of the open house was to get resident feedback on the road designs.
“We will take it back to FDOT and answer all questions and concerns they might have,” he said.
Michael D. Bates is a staff writer with the Citrus County Chronicle and can be reached at mbates@chronicleonline.com.
Q: I hear a lot about extending the Suncoast Parkway from its terminus at State Road 44 all the way to U.S. 19. Will it be done all at once or in phases?
A: In phases.
The first will expand the toll road from State Road 44 to County Road 486 near the Pine Ridge entrance. That will start this year and is expected to take three years.
Construction on the next phase from County Road 486 to County Road 495 (Citrus Way) is scheduled to start in the fall of 2025. The final leg from Citrus Way to Red Level off U.S. 19, north of Crystal River, is expected to begin in late 2025.
Q: Have these extensions been funded?
A: Yes. The money will come from toll revenue from Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise facilities.
Q: This sounds expensive. What’s the price tag on all these expansions?
A: The estimated construction cost from State Road 44 to County Road 486 is $76 million. From C.R. 486 to C.R. 495 (Citrus Way) is $245 million. From Citrus Way to U.S. 19, it’s $184 million.
Q: Those routes will go through many areas where there are protected species, such as Florida scrub jays, Eastern indigo snakes and gopher tortoises. What precautions are being taken?
A: The FDOT is working with state and federal environmental agencies to minimize the impacts to natural resources and develop mitigation plans where needed.
Q: Some residents along the routes are worried about noise from construction and (when built) cars and trucks zooming down the toll road. What’s being done about that?
A: The FDOT will conduct a study to determine if “noise walls” can be built to minimize the impacts.
Q: Speaking of that, folks in Sugarmill Woods are already complaining about the noise from vehicles zooming down the first parkway extension from U.S. 98 to State Road 44. Is anything being done?
A: Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise is working with government officials and homeowners to address that concern and will sponsor a virtual meeting with them soon to discuss it.
Q: Why are we doing all this anyway?
A: The FDOT said these additional parkway extensions will serve future traffic increases due to development in the region, provide a bypass route for through-traffic and relieve congestion from other state and county north-south roadways.
Q: Where can I find out more about all this?
A: Your best resource is www.Suncoast2.com The website breaks down the project, has pertinent documents, allows you to comment and answer questions and provides contact information.
Michael D. Bates is a staff writer with the Citrus County Chronicle and can be reached at mbates@chronicleonline.com.
