A former teacher was seen sobbing as she pleaded guilty to one count of child enticement and two counts of sexual misconduct by school staff with one of her 11-year-old students.

The court heard how Madison Bergmann would hound the pupil at her former school in Wisconsin, sending thousands of explicit texts for several months. The former fifth-grade teacher, 26, at River Crest Elementary School had several other charges dismissed as part of a plea deal she would accept. The dropped charges included first-degree sexual assault of a child, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, exposing a child to harmful descriptions, and additional counts of sexual misconduct by school staff and child enticement.

In footage shown from the court, she was seen sobbing, holding crumpled tissues, when a judge told her to calm down. Her vile abuse was only uncovered when the fifth-grader’s mother overheard her son speaking to the teacher on the phone. Confused as to why she would be phoning her boy, the victim’s mother found sexual texts between the two discussing encounters inside the classroom during lunch and after school.

In court, school resource officer Traci Hall spoke of how Bergmann and her victim had swapped more than 33,000 messages and exchanged 100 “love notes” and pieces of artwork.

Many of the messages were reportedly disturbingly sexual, including texts talking about touching, kissing and how Bergmann would become aroused in class.

Finding the texts, the boy’s father went straight to the school with printout evidence of their conversations and disturbing texts. Reportedly, the messages are alleged to have been about how much she enjoyed them kissing and him touching her.

Some other messages allegedly read: “I love you, want to kiss you, you turn me on, and I am obsessed with you.” One message said: “Dude I love you so much more – like I didn’t think it was possible – but oh my god today during reading….”

The teacher was arrested in May. The knock on the door came just three months before her planned wedding, although after the truth of her abuse came out, her blindsided partner swiftly called the marriage off.

In defence of his client, attorney Joseph Tamburino claimed that authorities had “overcharged” her. He added: “There is never any language where she says, ‘I want to have sex with you or that he says, ‘I want you to do this with me.’

“They talk a lot about kissing, and lips, and cheeks, and touching legs. They also talk about some sexual issues, obviously, about a woman’s body and a man’s body. But nothing like, ‘this is what I want you to do to me,’ or ‘this is what I will do to you.'”

The judge decided that probable cause existed for the charges to be brought. Bergmann was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by six years of supervision.