Wisconsin teacher charged with sexual misconduct involving two Hope Christian Academy students

Derrick Lee Pfeffer, 42, of Baldwin, Wisconsin, has been charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct and possession of child sexual abuse material in connection with allegations involving students at Hope Christian Academy in St. Paul Park. According to a complaint filed in Washington County District Court, Pfeffer was a teacher and athletic director at the school during the period when the alleged misconduct occurred. The charges include one count each of first-degree, second-degree, and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct, and nine counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

The investigation began after a woman brought her 17-year-old daughter to the Inver Grove Heights Police Department on August 3 to report criminal sexual conduct. The matter was subsequently referred to the St. Paul Park Police Department and investigated by the Cottage Grove Police Department. The 17-year-old girl, who attended Hope Christian Academy during her 9th and 10th grades, told investigators that she occasionally babysat Pfeffer’s children at his home in Cottage Grove.

According to the complaint, Pfeffer allegedly initiated inappropriate contact in January 2024, when the girl was 14 years old. During a car ride home from Pfeffer’s house, he apologized for allegedly grabbing her breast during a prior wrestling incident, a contact the girl stated she was not aware of. Pfeffer then told the girl that if he were younger, he “might have a chance with her.” The following day at school, Pfeffer allegedly apologized again and stated that she was his “type” and that he was attracted to “women who resembled her physically.”

Beginning in March or April of 2024, Pfeffer allegedly repeatedly took the girl to the kitchen area of the school and a secluded area near the bathrooms, where he kissed her and touched her over and under her clothing. The complaint states that these encounters escalated in the fall of 2024, when the girl was 15. Pfeffer allegedly exposed himself to the girl near the school bathrooms and pressured her into a sexual act, an occurrence the complaint says happened on three or four other occasions.

Pfeffer left Hope Christian Academy for a new position at the end of December 2024. According to the complaint, he continued to sexually assault the girl from December 2024 into the summer of 2025. The girl also stated that between March 2024 and January 2026, she went to Pfeffer’s home in Cottage Grove one to two times a month, where Pfeffer allegedly kissed her and touched her over and under her clothes.

The girl told investigators that her communication with Pfeffer had primarily been through Instagram using the “vanish mode” feature, which deletes photos and messages after they are viewed. The complaint notes that the girl and Pfeffer exchanged nude photos. The case highlights the critical need for robust safeguarding measures and accountability within educational institutions, reflecting the biblical call to protect the vulnerable and pursue justice, as seen in Micah 6:8.

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