Former charter school employee in Willmar, Minnesota, pleads guilty to sexual abuse – West Central Tribune

WILLMAR – A former DREAM Technical Academy bus driver charged with allegedly sexually abusing a minor and exchanging inappropriate messages pleaded guilty June 27 in Kandiyohi County District Court.

Contribution: Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.

Eric Scott Leist, 50, of Willmar, pleaded guilty to Alford to two counts of sexual abuse, one in the second degree and one in the third degree. Leist also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. All three counts are felonies.

In return, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and an additional count of third-degree sexual abuse were dropped.

Charges of aggravated misdemeanor charges related to supplying alcohol to minors and inducing a child to commit a crime were also dropped.

An Alford plea is entered when a defendant maintains his innocence of the charges against him but admits that the evidence presented at trial would more likely than not lead to a guilty verdict.

Leist is currently free after posting $50,000 bail. His sentencing is currently scheduled for August 30. According to the complaint, Leist is expected to spend 51 months in prison and must also register as a felon in Minnesota.

Leist was arrested in December 2022 after a parent reported an alleged sexual assault on his 15-year-old daughter. According to a Willmar police news release at the time, officers spoke with both the daughter and the parent.

According to the criminal complaint, the teenager stated that Leist worked as a teacher’s aide at DREAM Technical Academy in Willmar and drove students to and from school on a school bus.

She reported that the first time she was alone with him, Leist drove her home but stopped at his house in northwest Willmar to get cigarettes. She said Leist then drove into a small wooded area and offered her a cigarette.

Further investigation revealed that Leist and the girl had exchanged text messages on the school email. According to the criminal complaint, Leist told the girl to delete her emails and set up her own personal email account. The two had also exchanged SnapChat messages.

An office manager at DREAM Technical Academy confirmed to the West Central Tribune that Leist was fired after his arrest in December 2022 and that the school was cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.

According to the indictment, Leist helped the teenager sneak out of her home over a week and a half between late November and early December 2022. Prosecutors allege Leist drove her to his home in Willmar late at night and then dropped her off at her home in the early morning hours.

According to the indictment, the girl was able to draw a replica of the sunroom in Leist’s house. She recalled two instances in which she went into the sunroom, connected to his house and said they watched television before Leist allegedly sexually abused her.

She told authorities that she “didn’t say no, but she didn’t say yes either.” The complaint goes on to say that she understood she was not old enough to give consent.

Leist was later arrested on December 7, 2022, at DREAM Technical Academy in Willmar and transported to the Law Enforcement Center, where he later spoke with investigators.

Leist denied having a sexual relationship with the teenager and denied contacting her by email or phone. He said he knew the girl because he provided her transportation and was her favorite driver.

When Leist was shown the email exchange, which contained nude photos of the teenager, he told authorities that his email must have been hacked.

An officer showed Leist the drawing of the sunroom that the girl had provided to police. According to the complaint, Leist agreed that the drawing was an accurate depiction but denied that the girl had ever been in his apartment.