Ex-teacher, former Wichita City Council candidate gets probation in student sex case

An ex-teacher and former Wichita City Council candidate who admitted to sexual relations with a teenage student was sentenced to probation on Friday.

Rodney C. Wren will spend three years on probation and undergo mental health treatment, medication management, substance-abuse treatment and treatment for being a sex offender, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett, who said those were all recommended by a psychologist.

Additionally, Wren will be under a post release supervision for his lifetime and will have to register as a sex offender, Bennett said.

Wren has an underlying prison sentence of 34 months if he violates his probation, Bennett said.

Wren pleaded guilty in June to one of three counts of unlawful sexual relations for contact he had with a girl in 2015 and 2016 while he worked at Wichita Collegiate School. The school fired him when he was arrested on Feb. 7, 2020.

Having no criminal history put Wren on a border box under the Kansas sentencing guideline, meaning the judge could have given prison or probation. The DA’s office recommended probation.

Bennett said the “victim was consulted at length throughout the process and supported the plea agreement.

“During the sentencing, the court noted that the victim displayed courage when she chose to disclose and make the report to law enforcement after having wrestled with the decision for so long,” Bennett said.

Gerard Scott, Wren’s attorney, said the whole situation was a “tragedy for all involved, especially for the young lady.”

“We hope that Mr. Wren’s (acknowledgment) of guilt has brought her some validation and healing,” Scott wrote in an email. “She should be admired for her courage to come forward. (It was) a courage that appears to have been driven in large measure by her concerns for others and not out of anger.”

Scott said some would criticize the judgment of probation without knowing all of the facts.

“Mr. Wren was evaluated by Dr. Jarrod Steffan, one of the toughest forensic psychologists in the business, as having lower risks of re-offending and those risks can, and are, being appropriately managed with treatment,” Scott said. “The judge was extraordinarily thorough and thoughtful in his deliberations and ruling. The interest of society in this case are better served by treatment and rehabilitation.”

Scott filed a motion on Thursday asking for probation. The court document says that Wren, according to Steffan, wasn’t a pedophile or narcissist and didn’t have any other personality disorders.

In asking for probation, Scott asked the judge to consider Wren’s supportive family and full-time employment. Wren currently lives with his parents, the document says.

It says Wren is “average to below average in terms of risk assessment” and that those risks can be mitigated with community treatment.

Steffan found Wren’s ‘depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse/dependence, and sexual orientation concerns have contributed to his chronic problems,”’ according to the document.

A probable cause affidavit released by the court last year says Wren began pursuing the girl during her sophomore year when Wren got her phone number from school records.

The contact progressed to the point where Wren interacted with her sexually in his classroom “most days” during her senior year, the affidavit says the girl told authorities.

When the allegations surfaced in early 2020, Wren had long been a teacher and debate coach at Wichita Collegiate School and had an unsuccessful run for the District 2 Wichita City Council seat in 2019. He also is a former contender for the Kansas House of Representatives District 83 seat but dropped out of the 2012 race due to personal attacks, according to The Eagle’s news archives.

Contributing: Amy Renee Leiker with The Eagle

This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 7:20 PM.