Special Ed Teacher Who Rented Hotel Rooms With Her Student Gets Six Months, and She Can Serve It at Home

Former special education teacher at Tartan High School has been sentenced to six months for a sexual relationship with a student who was 18 years old and still in her class.

Ann Margaret Bacon, 27, of Hastings, got her sentence on Monday in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty in September to criminal sexual conduct in the third degree involving a prohibited occupational relationship.

Judge Thomas Gilligan Jr. ordered 180 days with two years of supervised probation, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported . Bacon got credit for two days already served and may serve the rest on electronic home monitoring.

He agreed to a plea bargain in which prosecutors and the defense jointly requested a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines. The agreement asked for a gross misdemeanor conviction and no more than 364 days in jail. Judge Gilligan granted the departure because Bacon was willing to comply with probation.

Educators cannot have a sexual relationship with their students in Minnesota, even if the student is 18 or older, KARE 11 reported at the time Bacon was charged.

According to criminal allegations, Bacon rented a room in a Vadnais Heights hotel on May 8, June 4, June 11, and July 4, 2023, staying one night each time. Bacon rented a room a "handful" of times to be intimate with the student because she was living with her parents until she found an apartment in July, KSTP reported.

In an interview with police on February 8, 2024, Bacon denied the relationship, stating that it started only after the student graduated. She later changed her story after investigators showed her pictures of the two taken May 8 in the hotel. She admitted that the relationship started when the student was still one of her students, about a month before his graduation, the Pioneer Press reported , citing the complaint.

The student, who admitted that he was in Bacon's class during his senior year, also stated to police that they did not have sex until July 2023, after he graduated.

Witnesses stated that Bacon bought alcohol for the student and other minors. One witness described a video on the student's phone from May 2023, showing Bacon, the student and some friends drinking in a hotel room, according to the Pioneer Press .

Bacon denied buying alcohol for minors. She admitted receiving a $40 Venmo payment on June 21, 2023, with the note "liqq," but said she could not recall who sent it and what it was for, FOX 9 reported, citing the complaint.

The case emerged due to people close to the student. A witness and her friend first raised concerns with the school in July 2023, but they had no evidence at the time. Later, another witness stated to police that there were sexually explicit messages and nude photos of Bacon and the student on his phone, according to KSTP.

School records revealed that a tipster reported the allegations on July 9, 2023. Two days later, the principal called Bacon, who denied any inappropriate interactions with students. The complaint states that no further action was taken and administrators did not make a mandatory report to the police, the Pioneer Press reported.

Ty Thompson, the district's assistant superintendent of secondary schools, told the Pioneer Press in 2024 that there "were no facts to support a reasonable belief of neglect or abuse" at that time.

The witness came forward again in February 2024, worrying that Bacon was still teaching and could access vulnerable students. Administrators and a school resource officer were informed of the report on February 6, 2024, FOX 9 reported, and the police opened an investigation. Prosecutors charged Bacon, then 24, with felony criminal sexual conduct in the third degree six days later.

Bacon resigned the same day police interviewed her. She was hired as a special education teacher in August 2022 after working at Tartan as a paraprofessional the previous school year. She also served as a varsity assistant for the dance team.

Tartan High School is in Oakdale and belongs to Independent School District 622, which serves North St. Paul, Maplewood, and Oakdale.