A Wisconsin man is accused of sexually assaulting two students he met while working as a teacher at their St. Paul Park school, Hope Christian Academy.

Derrick Lee Pfeffer, 42, of Baldwin, Wis., faces one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree criminal sexual conduct, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct. He was also charged with nine counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.

According to a complaint filed Thursday in Washington County District Court, a woman brought her 17-year-old daughter to the Inver Grove Heights Police Department on Aug. 3 to report criminal sexual conduct. The matter was referred to the St. Paul Park Police Department and investigated by the Cottage Grove Police Department.

The 17-year-old girl told investigators she attended Hope Christian Academy in St. Paul Park during 9th and 10th grades. Pfeffer was a teacher and athletic director at the school.

According to the complaint, the girl occasionally babysat Pfeffer’s children at the Pfeffer home in Cottage Grove. She stated that in January 2024, when she was 14 years old, Pfeffer drove her home from his house. During the car ride, Pfeffer apologized to the girl for “grabbing her breast while they had wrestled earlier,” according to the complaint. The girl said she was not aware he had. Pfeffer then told the girl that if he was younger, he “might have a chance with her.”

The next day at school, Pfeffer apologized again and told the girl she was his “type,” and stated he was attracted to “women who resembled her physically,” the complaint states.

Beginning March or April of that year, Pfeffer repeatedly took the girl to the kitchen area of the school where he kissed her and touched her over and under her clothing. This also occurred in a secluded area near the bathrooms.

The girl explained that in the fall of 2024, when she was 15, the encounters escalated. Pfeffer exposed himself to the girl near the school bathrooms and pressured her into a sexual act. This occurred again on three or four other occasions, according to the complaint.

Pfeffer left Hope Christian Academy for a new position at the end of December 2024.

He continued to sexually assault the girl from December 2024 into the summer of 2025. She 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 kissed her and touched her over and under her clothes.

The girl told investigators that when she and Pfeffer had communicated, it had primarily been through Instagram using the “vanish mode” feature where photos and messages are deleted after they have been viewed. The girl said that she and Pfeffer exchanged nude photos of each other via Instagram and despite “vanish mode,” she sometimes received notifications that Pfeffer had taken screenshots of the images.

The girl ended the “sexual relationship” in January 2026, the complaint states.

Following an event in March 2026, Pfeffer gave the girl a ride to pick up her vehicle at his home. While driving, he exposed himself to her and tried to persuade her into performing a sexual act. When she refused, he masturbated in front of her, according to the complaint.

She blocked Pfeffer’s phone number a few weeks later and has not had further contact with him.

A detective with the Cottage Grove Police Department executed a search warrant for Pfeffer’s cell phone on Sept. 14. Pfeffer agreed to speak with the detective and told him that he met the girl when he was teaching at Hope Christian Academy. He admitted to kissing the girl at school, at his home and at other locations. He also admitted to sexual conduct with the girl and that “he was feeling vulnerable and enjoyed having someone pursue him.” He admitted that he and the girl had exchanged nude photos.

On Sept. 15, another student contacted a Cottage Grove detective and stated Pfeffer had an inappropriate relationship with her.

The 16-year-old girl and her mother arrived at the Cottage Grove Police Department to provide a statement. The girl stated she met Pfeffer when she was 12 years old and a seventh-grader at Hope Christian Academy. When she was 15, he began a relationship with her that included “multiple acts of sexual contact and penetration,” at various locations in Wisconsin and Cottage Grove.

The detective reviewed the information from Pfeffer’s cell phone on Sept. 17 and found nude photos of the first girl, along with messages between her and Pfeffer.

Pfeffer was arrested Thursday, and had a first appearance on the charges Friday. He was released from jail Friday after posting a $100,000 bond with conditions. He’s due back in court Nov. 4. An attorney wasn’t listed for him in the court file as of Monday morning.

An official with Hope Christian Academy declined to comment on the investigation Friday.