COFFEY COUNTY – A 32-year-old former Burlington High School teacher and wrestling coach was sentenced Thursday in Coffey County District Court related to the sexual abuse of two teens.
At a sentencing hearing on Jan. 9, a judge sentenced Michael Vander Linden, of Burlington, to 36 months in prison and lifetime registration as a registered offender for three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Coffey County Attorney Wade Bowie prosecuted the case.
On Oct. 31, 2024, Michael Vander Linden pleaded no contest to the three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The remaining charges were dismissed.
On Feb. 13, 2024, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) agents obtained an arrest warrant and took Vander Linden into custody after two former students reported he had engaged in sexual intercourse with them between 2012 and 2013, when both were 15-years-old.
Following the hearing, Vander Linden was remanded to the custody of the Coffey County Sheriff’s Office where he will be transferred to the Kansas Department of Corrections to fulfill his sentence.
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COFFEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities have arrested a Kansas wrestling coach and teacher for alleged sex crimes.
Just after 7p.m. Wednesday, KBI agents arrested 31-year-old Michael Vander Linden of Burlington, Kansas, at 401 N. 12th St., in Burlington, according to a media release from the KBI. He was arrested on a warrant for eight counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.
Vander Linden is employed as teacher and wrestling and cross country coach at Burlington High School. He also directed the drama club and theater productions, according to the school web site.
In June 2022, the KBI initiated an investigation after the Coffey County Sheriff’s Office took a report from a former student of Vander Linden’s who reported a sexual relationship that took place in 2012 and 2013, when she was a sophomore and Vander Linden was a student teacher.
The investigation led to a second former student who reported she also had sexual intercourse with Vander Linden on multiple occasions in 2013, when she was 15-years-old.
After the arrest, Vander Linden was booked into the Coffey County Jail.