Milwaukee Teacher Accused Of Human Trafficking Mother, Child

MILWAUKEE, WI — A Milwaukee public high-school teacher has been arrested and charged with human trafficking and sexual assault after police say he convinced a woman and her child to come to the U.S. from the Philippines — only to be treated as servants.

Christian Mothershead, 46, of West Allis, has been charged with two counts of human trafficking and one count of second-degree sexual assault. According to a JSOnline report, Mothershead is a Mandarin Chinese language teacher at Alexander Hamilton High School in Milwaukee. He's been placed on unpaid leave during the investigation.

"I did none of these things," Mothershead said in a WTMJ report following his charging in court. "They're all lies."

According to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, a woman and her son lived in the Philippines and sold ice to make ends meet. She met Mothershead on an Asian dating website in June 2017. He flew to meet her in the Philippines in July 2017. While there, investigators say Mothershead convinced her to come to the U.S., while making one promise after another to her.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman and her son arrived in the U.S. in November 2018. Authorities said the woman was promised roses upon her arrival in Milwaukee. Instead, investigators say Mothershead took the woman and her son into his messy car, and immediately handed them cleaning gloves and a mask.

Investigators say the mother felt she and her son came to Milwaukee under the false pretenses: that she was going to marry Mothershead, be treated as a partner, and that her son would receive an education. They were forced to clean his house, cook food and were treated like servants, according to the complaint.

The night the woman and her child came to the U.S., Mothershead attempted to rape the woman, the complaint alleges, only to have the bed frame break during the attempt. Investigators say he became enraged and threatened to hit the woman.

Investigators say the mother reported that she and her son once cleaned the Mothershead's house for three days straight. They were told they would not be given “pure” or clean water if they didn’t clean first.

The mother woke up at 5 a.m. every day to cook breakfast for Mothershead and his son. She spent the rest of her day cleaning. When he came home, he would regularly take his son out for dinner and leave the woman and her son at home. If she did not follow his orders, Mothershead threatened to send her back to the Philippines, or he reacted by throwing things around the house, the criminal complaint stated.

According to investigators, when Thanksgiving came, the woman prepared an elaborate meal. Mothershead did not allow them to sit with him and his son, saying "Thanksgiving is for Americans and [they] aren’t Americans."

The woman's child told investigators that there were times when the mother and son were not allowed to have any food. The son told investigators that "almost like one night a week, they were not allowed to have food," the criminal complaint stated.

After several weeks, the woman called police. In December 2018, police helped her get to a shelter. The human trafficking task force was not called until January 2019.

If convicted, he faces up to 55 years behind bars, or up to $300,000 in fines — or both. He was out from the Milwaukee County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond, court records show.

He's due back in court on Sept. 23 for his preliminary hearing, according to court records.