Minnesota special ed teacher gets 6 months after admitting to sexual relationship with student 

A former special education teacher in Minnesota has received a plea deal after pleading guilty to a sexual relationship with one of her students, who was 18 years old and still in school at the time.

The sentence, announced Oct. 26 in Ramsey County District Court, allows 27-year-old Ann Margaret Bacon to serve her 180-day sentence with electronic home monitoring followed by two years of supervised probation, the Pioneer Press reported.

The relationship had been established at least a month before the student, who was attending Tartan High School in Oakdale, graduated in 2023.

In February 2024, a witness told school officials that she had learned in July 2023 that Bacon had been having sexual relations with a student and had also purchased alcohol for juveniles, according to a 2024 KARE 11 report.

Bacon originally denied the charges but later admitted to the relationship after investigators showed her images of her with the student in a hotel room on May 8, 2023.

Hotel records also showed Bacon had rented one-night stays for May 8, June 4, June 11 and July 4.

“Please be assured that the trust and safety of our students remain our utmost priority,” Tartan Principal Bethany DeCent said in February 2024, as reported by Blaze Media. “We are cooperating fully with law enforcement’s investigation and will continue to do so throughout the process.”

Other cases involving special-needs children

Meanwhile, other districts nationwide have come under increasing scrutiny after children with special needs were sexually exploited.

As Heartlander News previously reported, a former special education technician in Maine’s Portland Public Schools was convicted of sexual exploitation of a 6-year-old nonverbal child and sentenced to 22 years in 2023.

This summer, the mom of the child sued the district and accused it of failing to follow required safety protocols.

“Plaintiffs have suffered extensive damages and damages must be provided in such amount as to send a message to all similarly situated public school institutions that the behavior will not be tolerated,” the lawsuit read.

Similarly in Oklahoma, the mom of a 17-year-old student sued Broken Arrow Public Schools after her daughter was sexually assaulted by another student in a school bathroom.

Although the mom had requested a door-to-door aide for her student, the school had not provided anyone to supervise her daughter even after the incident occurred, according to the lawsuit.

“Parents should never have to wonder whether their kids’ school employs and protects sexual predators,” Department of Education (ED) Secretary Linda McMahon said this summer when announcing a crackdown on adult sexual predators in K-12 schools. “Schools that receive federal funding have a duty to protect students, report sexual misconduct honestly, and follow the law.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/KARE 11; Source: Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)