Ex-Teacher Charged With Making Pornographic Videos With Former Student
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A former Columbia Heights teacher is facing charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage boy and recorded the assaults on video.
Thirty-two-year-old Daniel Laskowski of Maple Grove now faces four felony charges, including criminal sexual conduct.
Last Friday, police say a teenage boy came to them with disturbing allegations. The teenager said Laskowski, his former middle school teacher and football coach, assaulted him and told him they could make $250,000 if they recorded a pornographic video together.
"We didn't see a background or pattern of this and that's alarming. As a teacher and as a coach, he's got contact with a lot of students. More so on the coaching end," Captain Adam Lindquist of Maple Grove police said.
The criminal complaint says Laskowski served the boy alcohol and assaulted the teenager two different times, once when the boy was 15 and then again when he was 16.
On both occasions, Laskowski allegedly filmed the encounters. He told the teenager he had contacts in Europe who would buy the video for $250,000 and they could split the money.
The criminal complaint states that after Laskowski contacted the teenager on SnapChat about making a third video, the boy's mom found out and went to police.
Police arrested Laskowski and seized his electronics, which are undergoing analysis. Laskowski is currently in the Hennepin County Jail, with his bail set at $500,000.
Police said they aren't yet sure if Laskowski actually sent the videos to other people. They said they are also investigating whether or not there were other victims.
"This young man looked up to this guy as a father figure. And when I first read it I was at a loss for words that this was a horrific thing for him and his family to go through," said Lindquist.
At his first court appearance Thursday, bail was set at $300,000 with conditions and $500,000 without. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 14, 2019.
The Columbia Heights school district said he worked as a social studies teacher and coach from 2012 to 2017, when he resigned from his teaching position.
If convicted of the criminal sexual conduct charges, he faces decades in prison.
