Charge: Oakland, Minnesota special education teacher had sex with student – InForum

ST. PAUL — A Minnesota special education teacher admitted to police that he began a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student about a month before graduation last year, according to a criminal complaint.

Ann Margaret Bacon, 24, of Hastings, was charged on a warrant Monday, Feb. 12, in Ramsey County District Court with one count of third-degree felony criminal sexual conduct alleging prohibited professional relationship. It was done.

Bacon resigned from his job at Tartan High School in Oakdale, Minn., on Thursday, the same day he was interviewed by police.

According to the complaint, Bacon initially told police he had sex with the student in July after graduation, but Bacon confronted police with a photo of the two of them taken at a hotel in Vadnais Heights on May 8. According to him, he changed his story. Meanwhile, Bacon denied allegations that he purchased alcohol for minors.

Ms. Bacon was hired as a Tartan special education teacher in August 2022. Prior to that, she worked as a paraprofessional during the 2021-2022 school year, Ty Thompson, District 622's assistant superintendent of secondary schools, said Monday.

Thompson said Tartan Principal Bethany Decent notified families and staff of Bacon's misconduct and resignation via email on Monday.

“Please be assured that the trust and safety of our students remains our top priority,” Decent said in an email. “We are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation and will continue to do so throughout the investigation process.”

On February 6, Tartan Administration and School Resource Officers received a report that Ms. Bacon had sex with an 18-year-old male student, identified as Victim 1 in the criminal complaint. Reporters said she also purchased alcohol for minors.

Police spoke with Witness A, who said she and her friend reported the suspected cheating to the school in July “because they didn't feel the situation was appropriate,” the complaint states. She said school administrators contacted her friend and asked for evidence to support her allegations. She did not follow up with her manager at the time because there was no evidence, she said.

Another witness told police that Victim 1 was “acting undercover” and had Bacon and other minors buy alcohol for him.

Witness B told police that there were sexually explicit messages and photos of Bacon and Victim 1 on Victim 1's cell phone. It also included a photo taken in a hotel room on May 8th.

Witness B also reported seeing a May 2023 video on Victim 1's cell phone that showed Bacon, him, and several of his friends drinking alcohol in a hotel room.

Police spoke with Victim 1 on Thursday. He admitted that he was in Bacon's class in fourth grade. He said they had sex for the first time in July 2023 in her car near her home. He denied having sexual relations with her before her graduation. He said they are currently on a date, just the two of them, and he is staying at her apartment.

A tipster reported the allegations on July 9, according to school records. School district officials contacted the phone number listed in the report but received no response.

Two days later, the school's principal called Bacon. Her complaint states that she denies “any inappropriate interactions with her students” and that “no further action was taken at that time and a mandatory police report was made by school administration.” There was not,” it added.

Asked by the Pioneer Press about the claim that police were not notified, Thompson said in an email Monday that “there were no facts to support a reasonable belief of neglect or abuse” at the time.

According to school records, Witness A sent the school a separate notice about Bacon on February 5th “out of concern that (Bacon) was still teaching in the high school and had access to vulnerable students as a special education teacher.” The complaint states that the report was made. Say.

Witness A said that she received a phone call from the principal the next day. She filed the complaint again, and she said she also plans to notify school resource officers.

Police obtained the records from a hotel in the 3500 block of Vadnai Center Drive, just south of County Road E and east of Interstate 35E. Records show Bacon rented a room there on May, 8, June 4, June 11, and July 4. All stays were for one night.

Police spoke with Bacon on Thursday. After several denials, she admitted to their sexual relationship and said their relationship began when he was a student, according to her complaint. She said they stopped having sex in July 2023 and that they are just friends now.

She admitted to receiving a $40 payment from Venmo for “liqq” on June 21st, but “claimed she didn't remember who it was from or what it was for.” The complaint states.

Electronic devices belonging to Bacon and Victim 1 were seized by investigators and are being examined for forensic evidence.