Former Benson, Minnesota, teacher pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct

Dale Morin — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 22:14:09 GMT

BENSON — A former Benson Public ��s teacher, accused of having sexual contact with male students in his classroom, pleaded guilty to four felony charges Tuesday, Oct. 22, the day his trial had been set to begin.

Roger Joseph Ebnet, 61, formerly of Benson, pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct at the Swift County Courthouse in front of a packed courtroom. Deputies from the Swift County Sheriff's Office brought extra chairs into the courtroom.

Under oath, Ebnet said that the inappropriate contact between him and four students was for his sexual gratification, as his attorneys reviewed the four charges with him.

Friends and family sitting behind Ebnet bowed their heads throughout most of the proceedings, while tissues were passed around by people seated behind the prosecutor's table after Ebnet admitted guilt to the first charge.

The plea hearing scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday before District Court Judge Melissa Listug began about an hour late after attorneys met twice in the judge's chambers.

Per the plea petition, which was filed Monday in Swift County District Court, five other counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in the same case will be dismissed.

In addition, a separately filed criminal case against Ebnet regarding decades-old allegations brought forward by two adult males will be dismissed.

According to the plea petition, the maximum sentence the court could impose for Ebnet is 25 years in prison.

A date for sentencing is yet to be determined as additional court proceedings are required to determine if aggravating factors will be applied.

As part of the plea agreement, Ebnet agreed to waive the right to jury determination of aggravating factors, sometimes called Blakely factors, that prosecutors put forward when seeking to justify a more severe sentence.

In the case of a jury trial, these separate arguments are made to a jury only after a guilty verdict is rendered. In this case, a court trial instead has been scheduled before Judge Listug, starting Friday.

She had earlier granted the state's motion to present to the jury two aggravating factors: particular vulnerability of the victims due to age — the boys were age 7 or 8 at the time of the charged contact — and that the victims were intentionally selected because of their sex or gender.

The prosecution and defense have agreed that forensic interviews of seven victims and social worker questionnaires from three witnesses are among the materials Judge Listug may consider.

According to the initially filed criminal complaint, Ebnet was observed in a surveillance video recorded on Dec. 1, 2022, having sexual contact between himself and three other boys aged 7 and 8. Ebnet allegedly had three separate minor males seated between his legs at various times.

Ebnet is observed in the video placing the boys’ hands behind their backs and under his own groin area as he moves behind them. The initially filed complaint describes one instance where Ebnet allegedly placed a boy’s hand on his groin for approximately four minutes while class was in session. The other children in the class have their eyes closed during this instance.

Ebnet was initially charged with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct based on the video footage. However, the list of victims grew to at least nine former students as police began to follow up after Ebnet’s arrest.

Four other boys, aged 9 to 15 when interviewed, also told law enforcement about their own accounts of alleged inappropriate contact with Ebnet when each was a student in his class. All described Ebnet allegedly touching them or placing their hands on his own body, according to an amended criminal complaint filed in January of 2024.

Most of the identified victims are still currently minors, but two adult males also came forward to report that Ebnet had sexually abused them when he was their teacher.

The first adult male came forward to police almost immediately after news of Ebnet’s arrest. When prosecutors filed the additional charges in January, the second adult said he had read the charging document and then came forward himself.

Charges regarding those decades-old allegations from the two adults were filed in June of 2024 in a separate criminal case, charging Ebnet with two additional felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree.

Judge Listug had granted a defense motion in May to sever from the original file the charge involving the first adult. That charge was then refiled a month later, alongside a charge based on the second adult's allegation.

Near the conclusion of Tuesday's hearing, Meeker County Attorney Brandi Schiefelbein, who has served as special prosecutor, noted for the record that both of those men — and a third adult victim for which charges were not filed — had given their blessing to her to dismiss their cases entirely in order to "sweeten" the plea deal.

Schiefelbein said the adults had done so in the interest of the juveniles involved, sparing them from testifying. None of the families objected to the conditions within the plea petition, according to Schiefelbein.

Ebnet has resided in Morris since 2023, after posting $25,000 conditional bail.

The trial had been scheduled in Meeker County after Judge Listug granted a change of venue in July of 2023. According to court records, 18 witnesses would have been called by the defense, including Ebnet’s two adult sons. Four former educators, coworkers and friends were also listed as character witnesses for Ebnet.

Ebnet was a teacher for more than 30 years, and was previously named a 2017 Educator of Excellence by the Minnesota Rural Education Association.

According to West Central Tribune archives, Ebnet led a Northside Elementary effort that in 2013 brought a celebrity visit and more than $12,000 in prize money to Benson ��s through a "Give with Target" promotion. A concert by country music artist Luke Bryan headlined the event.

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Change of venue OK'd in sexual contact case against former teacher

Tom Cherveny — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 16:45:35 GMT

BENSON, Minn. — A district court judge has granted motions allowing for both a change of venue in the sexual contact case against former Benson elementary instructor Roger Joseph Ebnet and for the state to argue for an increased sentence if he is convicted.

Ebnet, 60, of Benson, was charged in Swift County District Court with three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the second degree on Nov. 30, 2022, for alleged sexual contact with three boys, ages 7 and 8, in his second-grade classroom in Benson.

In her ruling filed July 18, District Judge Melissa Listug approved a defense motion to move any pretrial hearing or jury trial for Ebnet to Meeker County. The judge concurred with a motion by defense attorney Daniel Mohs that it would be impossible to procure an impartial jury in Swift County due to pretrial publicity in the case.

The prosecution did not oppose the request for a change of venue. The judge stated in the ruling that the change of venue may also be approved due to the convenience it represents. The special prosecutor for the case is Meeker County Attorney Brandi Schiefelbein.

The judge also ruled that there is probable cause that aggravating factors may be present to allow the state to argue for an increased sentence if Ebnet is convicted on any of the counts. The judge agreed with arguments by the prosecution that the alleged victims present “particular vulnerability due to age” and that Ebnet allegedly “intentionally selected the victims because of their actual or perceived gender.” Both represent aggravating factors.

The ruling follows a May 31 hearing in Swift County in which the investigating police officer testified. �� Resource Officer Paula Wilson, who has 21 years of law enforcement experience, began her investigation after receiving a report from a parent with a daughter in Ebnet’s second-grade classroom.

The parent reported that her daughter was not getting help in school because the defendant allegedly “spends most of his time with his favorite student, a boy who sat on the defendant’s lap,” according to the court ruling.

The report reminded Wilson of a similar report from years prior, and she pursued the installation of a camera in the defendant’s classroom. The camera was installed without the defendant’s knowledge and focused on a rug and reading area.

Ebnet allegedly had three separate minor males seated between his legs at various times on Nov. 30, 2022. The complaint states that Ebnet appears to have the children close their eyes and face away from him.

Ebnet is observed in the video placing the boys’ hands behind their backs and under his own groin area as he moves behind them, according to the complaint.

The case is scheduled for a settlement conference on Sept. 18.

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BENSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Former Benson, Minnesota, teacher pleads guilty to criminal sexual conduct

Change of venue OK'd in sexual contact case against former teacher