An elementary school teacher in Richfield has been charged with sexually abusing two minors over the course of seven years, according to local police.
28-year-old Matthew Bertsch is facing two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and one count of using minors in pornographic work, according to Bloomington police.
The abuse dates back to 2011, when the victims were 10 and 11 years old, and ended in 2019, Bloomington police chief Booker Hodges said at a press conference on Thursday.
All of the alleged abuses happened inside a Bloomington residence, and a complaint states that one of the victims estimated more than 100 instances of abuse.
The complaint alleged that Bertsch exposed himself to the victims and often removed their pants to expose them as well.
Bertsch is also accused of touching the victims, giving them alcohol, showing them sexual videos of himself, sending them sexual pictures through Snapchat, taking naked pictures of at least one of them, and kissing their bodies.
Bertsch was slated to teach at the Fair School in Crystal this year after working as an 8th-grade gym teacher at Plymouth middle school last year. He's had his teaching license since 2019.
Police confronted and arrested Bertsch at Fair School in Crystal after the victims went to the police following a confrontation with him.
"We are not going to tolerate this in the city of Bloomington," Hodges said.
Hodges says there is no evidence that Bertsch assaulted any students while teaching but that anyone with information that believes he may have assaulted their child should contact the police department.
"So if you think that Mr. Matthew Anderson Bertsch may have assaulted one of your kids, you can call us here at the Bloomington Police Department," Hodges said.
Bertsch was arrested Tuesday and booked into Hennepin County Jail, where he remained as of Thursday afternoon. His first court appearance is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
Related
Related
