Blaine elementary teacher on leave after alleged sexual assault of student
Updated: 5:19 p.m. | Posted: 3:22 p.m.
A fourth-grade teacher at Johnsville Elementary School in Blaine is on administrative leave after being charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old student.
Kenneth Lee Sonnenfeld, Jr., 52, was arrested Tuesday night. He was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct in Anoka County District Court Wednesday.
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He has been with the Anoka-Hennepin School District for almost 24 years.
Sonnenfeld allegedly touched the girl multiple times beginning around December 2014 when she was 9 years old, according to a criminal complaint. The alleged touching ended sometime in spring 2015, the complaint said.
The student told investigators that Sonnenfeld would touch her, once under her shorts and underwear, as she stood by his desk to get help on math and science problems, court documents said. She eventually stopped asking for help on schoolwork.
The child "decided to talk about what happened so that her chest and stomach wouldn't hurt anymore," according to the complaint.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District said in a statement it received a complaint from the student and "immediately reported this complaint to law enforcement and appropriate agencies." The district said it will conduct its own investigation.
The Anoka County Sheriff's Office says it began an investigation on Tuesday.
The school will have social workers and mental health professionals on hand for students and staff members, said Jim Skelly, communications director for the school district.
"It is difficult for everyone involved to process upon hearing the news," Skelly said. "There's no doubt about that. We're in a position where we can't comment much more until the Anoka County authorities have processed and done their work."