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Jefferson Fietek, Former Twin Cities Teacher, Sentenced To 30 Years For Sexually Abusing Boys

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing boys while he was a teacher.

Officials in Anoka County say that Jefferson Fietek, who taught at Anoka Middle School for the Arts, was sentenced to three decades behind bars, the statutory maximum sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He will also be required to register as a predatory offender.

Fietek, 48, pleaded guilty in August to three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. As part of a plea agreement, he also admitted in court to sex acts against two other victims.

Between 2009 and 2019, Fietek abused the students at Anoka Middle School for the Arts and at his home.

"It is horrible that Fietek took the innocence of young boys for his own pleasure" said Anoka County Attorney Tony Palumbo, in a statement. "Although a 30-year prison sentence will not return that innocence, today is an important step in the healing of those hurt by the defendant."

Fietek gained media attention in the late 2000s as an LGBTQ+ student advocate following the suicides of several teens in the Anoka-Hennepin School District.

In 2014, he ran unsuccessfully for a Minnesota House seat.

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