According to a criminal complaint, a special education teacher at Tartan High School admitted to police that she began a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old student last year about a month before he graduated. Ann Margaret Bacon, 24, of Hastings, was charged Monday by warrant in Ramsey County District Court with third-degree sexual abuse alleging a prohibited professional relationship.

Bacon left her job at the Oakdale School on Thursday, the same day police questioned her. According to the ad, Bacon initially told police she had sex with the student in July after he graduated, but changed her story after being confronted with photos of the two of them at a Vadnais Heights hotel on May 8. Bacon, meanwhile, denied the allegations that he purchased alcohol for the minor. Bacon was hired as a special education teacher at Tartan in August 2022. Ty Thompson, assistant superintendent for secondary schools in District 622, said Monday that she worked as a teaching assistant during the 2021-2022 school years. 

Hotel photos, video Tartan administration and school police officers were notified in February. It was revealed June 6 that Bacon had engaged in a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student, identified in the criminal complaint as Victim 1. She also purchased alcohol for the minor, according to a spokesperson.  Police spoke with Witness A, who said she and a friend reported the suspected misconduct to the school in July because “they felt the situation was inappropriate,” the complaint states. She said school administrators contacted her friend and asked for evidence to support the allegations. She said she did not check with school administrators at the time because she did not have evidence. 

Another witness told police that Victim 1 was “acting undercover,” hanging out with Bacon and getting Victim 1 and other minors to buy him alcohol.  Witness B reported sexually explicit messages and photos of Bacon and Victim 1 on Victim 1’s phone to police, including images of them in a hotel room on May 8.  Witness B also reported seeing a video on Victim 1’s phone that showed Bacon, him, and several of his friends drinking alcohol in a hotel room in May 2023.  Police interviewed Victim 1 on Thursday. He admitted to being in Bacon’s class during his senior year. He said the first time they had sex was in July 2023 in her car near his home.

He denied having a sexual relationship with her before graduation. He said they were now dating alone and staying at her apartment.  July report, but “no facts” School records show that a source reported the allegations on July 9. District officials called the phone number listed in the information but received no response. Two days later, the principal contacted Bacon by phone. She denied having “inappropriate interactions with students,” the complaint states. It also states, “No further action was taken at this time, and school administrators did not file a mandatory police report.” Asked by the Pioneer Press about the claim that no police report was filed, Thompson said in an email Monday that “there were no facts at the time to support a reasonable suspicion of neglect or abuse.

According to school records

 Witness A said she received a call from the principal the next day. She reiterated the allegations and said she would also notify school safety. Hotel documents Police obtained records from the hotel, located in the 3500 block of Vadnais Center Drive,  south of County Road E and east of Interstate 35E. Records show Bacon rented rooms 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 a sexual relationship and said the relationship began when he was a student, according to the complaint. She said they stopped having sex in July 2023 and are now just friends.  “She admitted to receiving a $40 Venom payment for ‘Liqq’ on June 21, but could not remember who it was from or what it was for,” the statement reads.  Electronic devices owned by Bacon and Victim 1 were seized by investigators who are examining forensic evidence.