ANOKA, Minn. — A former Anoka middle school theater teacher will be sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to three felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual assault.
According to a release from the Anoka County Attorney's Office, under a plea agreement that was supported by each victim, Jefferson Fietek will serve 30 years in prison – the statutory maximum sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct – and will be required to register as a predatory offender. Official sentencing will take place Nov. 17.
Anoka County Sheriff's investigators say they first found out about Fietek's alleged conduct after receiving a report in late June about a sexual assault that had occurred around a decade ago involving a then-student at the Anoka Middle School for the Arts. The criminal complaint issued against Fietek says the abuse of the boy, who was 14 years old at the time, started when the defendant invited his victim to sleep over to work on a project. The victim told investigators there were numerous instances of sexual abuse, including some that took place at a summer theater camp.
While looking into the first case, Anoka County investigators received a second report of Fietek sexually abusing a juvenile in 2019. The complaint states the alleged criminal sexual conduct took place when the victim, who Fietek met when the boy auditioned for a middle school play, was just 15-years-old. The alleged victim told investigators that even after Fietek moved to Massachusetts he kept asking him to send nude pictures.
Investigators went public with the initial allegations against Fietek, and learned of two more reported victims, both of whom were former students at the school for the arts. According to the complaint, one alleged victim told detectives Fietek abused him regularly over a three-year period, while the other says the abuse began when he was 15 or 16, and continued for about two years.
