DUBUQUE, Iowa — Dubuque police say a man who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday as officers executed a search warrant was a middle school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.
On Wednesday, June 12, an arrest warrant was issued for 24-year-old Thomas Jefferson Middle School teacher Trent A. Paschal for two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, according to a news release. As Dubuque police attempted to serve the arrest warrant at Paschal's apartment in the 900 block of Washington Street, officers say they heard a gunshot from inside. Officers entered the apartment afterward and found Paschal dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Police began investigating allegations that Paschal was engaged in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student on May 31. Following interviews conducted by Dubuque Police Department School Resource Officers and Criminal Investigation Division investigators, authorities learned Paschal and the student exchanged messages of a sexual nature via text and Snapchat. Investigators say that Paschal picked up the student from the student's neighborhood and took the student to his apartment for sex on two occasions.
According to police, traffic and surveillance cameras show Paschal picking up the student around midnight on May 27 and returning to his apartment, before they're seen entering his apartment and subsequently leaving it. Police say they also obtained forensic evidence that corroborate the allegations.
The Dubuque Police Department strongly encourages any victims of sexual abuse to file a report with your local law enforcement agency. Anyone with information about this investigation should contact Investigator Kurt Rosenthal at 563-587-3808 or krosenth@cityofdubuque.org.
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