APPLETON - A jury on Friday found a former Little Chute High School teacher guilty of sexually assaulting a student nearly two decades ago.

Jason LaVigne, 46, was found guilty of repeated sexual assault of the same child as a result of sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl about 20 years ago, when the girl was a student in one of his classes. An Outagamie County jury deliberated for a total of nearly six hours over two days before reaching a verdict. Testimony lasted about three days.

The verdict was read by Outagamie County Circuit Judge Vince Biskupic before a crowded courtroom that included friends and relatives of both LaVigne and the victim.

LaVigne sat motionless at the defense table when the verdict was announced. He is scheduled be sentenced June 25.

The allegations against LaVigne didn't come to light until he was charged in June with third-degree sexual assault in Marinette County, where he's accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl after giving her alcoholic drinks on a pontoon boat, according to a criminal complaint.

The investigation in Marinette County led police to LaVigne's school personnel file, where they found information about the older accusations against him. In 2009, LaVigne's alleged victim in Outagamie County wrote to a school counselor detailing her claims. She accused LaVigne of rubbing himself against her several times in a keyboarding class she took as a freshman at Little Chute High School in 2000.

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LaVigne spent about two hours testifying on Thursday and denied any sexual contact took place between him and the victim.

LaVigne explained he frequently walked around the keyboarding classroom carrying a textbook and stopwatch to time exercises for students, often stopping to make sure they were typing correctly. He demonstrated for the jury exactly how he stood behind students, using a textbook, stopwatch and chair the defense claimed was identical to those in the classroom at the time.

Little Chute Area School District superintendent David Botz wrote a report in 2009 about the Outagamie County victim's accusations, but concluded there wasn't enough evidence to suggest LaVigne acted inappropriately.

Botz chose not to contact police — including the Little Chute school resource officer — or child protective services, according to the criminal complaint.

The law in Wisconsin requires school employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect to police or child protective services. But in late June, police revealed Botz wouldn't be charged in connection with the case.

In his closing argument late Thursday, Outagamie County Assistant District Attorney Alex Duros criticized the school's response to the accusations against LaVigne, saying they were "tucked under the rug" by administrators.

"They dropped the ball," Duros said. "They are not sensitive crimes investigators."

He went on to describe the evidence against LaVigne in the case as "overwhelming," then later asked the jury to hold LaVigne accountable for his actions.

But Frank Stupak, LaVigne's defense attorney, told the jury more than enough reasonable doubt existed in the case to warrant a verdict of not guilty.

"All the evidence is stale and unreliable," he said.

On Tuesday, the first day of LaVigne's trial, the alleged Outagamie County victim described how she was "very shaken" and too afraid to report what she claimed happened to her at the time.

And on Wednesday, LaVigne's alleged victim in Marinette County testified about her accusations, telling the jury LaVigne forced her to sit on his lap, kissed her and touched her chest.

The alleged victims both identified themselves in court, but USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin does not name potential sexual assault victims.

A trial for LaVigne's case in Marinette County has been scheduled for late May.

Contact Chris Mueller at 920-996-7267 or cmueller@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AtChrisMueller.