KENOSHA, Wis. — According to DPI records just obtained by Kenosha County Eye, Carthage College advisor Conner David Olsen was accused of touching a 15-year-old female student’s upper chest, abdomen and lower back. The records reveal that Olsen agreed never to apply for or seek reinstatement of any DPI license or permit after the agency determined his conduct constituted “immoral conduct.” Carthage continues to list him in a position advising students.
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
The revelations come as Carthage parents express anger that Olsen remains employed in a role working directly with students. Olsen, who resigned from Westosha Central High School in lieu of termination in April 2025, denies wrongdoing, and his surrender agreement expressly states that it does not constitute an admission.
Kenosha County Eye reported Olsen’s license surrender on June 6, 2026. The newly obtained investigative file and settlement documents now explain the state’s conclusions and the permanent restrictions Olsen accepted.
The signed agreement states that DPI’s investigation determined the allegations involving Olsen’s failure to maintain appropriate boundaries with a student constituted immoral conduct under Wisconsin law. It required him to surrender all DPI-issued licenses and permits and withdraw any pending applications.
Olsen also agreed that he “may not apply for or seek reinstatement of a license or permit issued by the DPI.” If he attempts to do so, the agreement allows DPI to deny the application based solely on that agreement, and Olsen waived his right to challenge such a denial.
Olsen signed the agreement April 29, 2026, and Deputy State Superintendent Thomas McCarthy signed it May 7. In a May 7 closure letter to Westosha District Administrator John Gendron, DPI said Olsen no longer held a valid DPI license and had agreed never to apply for one again. The agency also said it reported the surrender to the NASDTEC Educator Identification Clearinghouse so other state education agencies would know the outcome.
Before the agreement, DPI had determined there was sufficient evidence to pursue revocation. In a March 31, 2026 letter, DPI General Counsel Kyle Olsen wrote that he had reviewed the complaint, investigative materials and responses and concluded there was sufficient evidence that Conner Olsen engaged in immoral conduct.
The March 31 letter also explained that DPI was withdrawing an earlier notice of probable cause because Olsen had not received a February notice and his attorney had not been sent it. DPI issued a replacement notice while maintaining its conclusion that grounds existed to revoke his license.
The underlying investigation describes an increasingly personal relationship between Olsen and the student, including extensive texting, gifts, closed-door meetings, unauthorized rides and discussions of Olsen’s private life. In one exchange quoted by DPI, Olsen acknowledged the student’s age while describing his influence over her.
“You’re doing the hardest work of your life at 15. I’m challenging you every day,” Olsen wrote, according to the report. “I’m breaking down your walls. I’m not letting you protect yourself. I’m exposing you. I’m breaking you down.”
In another exchange, DPI quoted Olsen telling the student, “Don’t repeat that.” He then added, “Not saying you would…I just like my job.” The report also quoted him telling her, “It’s you and me against the world right now.” A separate late-night exchange shows Olsen initially suggesting the student delete a message in which he called her a beautiful young woman who was “electrifying to be around.” Later in that same message, he withdrew the request, writing, “No I take back my favor. Keep that.” He added that he was worried calling her beautiful was not appropriate, according to the transcript.
School officials explained that the student had deleted most messages from her iPhone before the investigation. Because an Apple Watch had not recently synchronized, the student recorded messages as they appeared and disappeared during syncing, allowing staff to preserve some of the communications. DPI’s report identifies at least one message supplied by the student or family that Olsen had not provided to the district.
The district’s investigation also recorded allegations of physical contact beyond the hugs, knee taping and hand pressure-point demonstrations described elsewhere in the findings. The student reported that Olsen touched her arms, legs, lower back, abdomen and upper chest to massage pressure points and stretched her on his desk. Those were the student’s allegations recorded in the district’s investigation; Olsen disputed inappropriate touching.
In his written rebuttal, Olsen argued that investigators misapplied district policies, omitted context and mischaracterized his actions. He described the communications as supportive, said he believed the parents were monitoring the texts, and maintained that he had tried to reduce the student’s dependence on him. He also denied falsifying attendance records and said he had misunderstood how the district wanted counseling-related absences entered.
Gendron offered a sharply different assessment in a June 12, 2025 telephone call with DPI. According to the investigator’s notes, Gendron said Olsen knew the student was vulnerable and had gotten her to depend on him. “In my opinion I don’t think he should be working with kids in this setting,” Gendron said, according to the notes. He said district officials believed the situation had been caught early, while also stating there were no indications of anything sexual occurring.
The notes also state that law enforcement had met with the family the previous evening. The records reviewed by KCE do not establish what resulted from that meeting or whether it led to a criminal investigation or charging referral. Carthage publicly welcomed Olsen as a new Aspire Center employee on July 22, 2025, after KCE had reported his resignation and the allegations at Westosha. The college’s website continues to list him as a career specialist and academic advisor, with responsibility for advising all undeclared students and supporting engineering and physics students.
His Carthage biography describes him as a “trusted resource” and praises his ability to build “strong, supportive relationships with students.” The biography does not mention the DPI investigation, the surrender or his agreement never to seek another DPI credential. A separate Carthage publication raises questions about whether his work has involved minors through community outreach. An August 2, 2026 article published under Olsen’s byline describes the Aspire Center hosting Racine Summer Youth Employment participants for workshops and a campus tour.
Racine County identifies that program as serving participants ages 15 through 18, and both the county’s program information and the Carthage article identify Karen Goodwin as the youth vocational coordinator. Olsen’s byline does not establish that he personally attended the event, supervised participants or had individual contact with them. The surrender agreement governs Olsen’s DPI licenses and permits; it does not itself prohibit employment at a college. The newly obtained records nevertheless sharpen questions about what Carthage knew when it hired him, what officials reviewed after his surrender, and what supervision or restrictions govern his interactions with students and any youth-program participants.
