Former SE MN School Officer Convicted in Teacher Sexting Case

Northfield, MN (KROC-AM News) - A former southeastern Minnesota law enforcement officer today entered a guilty plea to a felony charge for his attempts to protect a teacher from prosecution for sending sexually explicit photos to students.

Accused of Trying to Protect Accused Teacher

Court documents state that former Northfield Police Department School Resource Officer Gabriel Crombie was charged with two felony counts of aiding an offender and a gross misdemeanor count of misconduct by a public official after former Northfield Middle School teacher Katie Ann Hanson was charged with electronic communication of sexually explicit materials to children. The 38-year-old woman entered into a plea agreement last fall and admitted to one of the felony charges.

seb_ra

Northfield Teacher Accused of Sexting Students

She had been accused of sending nude photos of herself over Snapchat to five boys who ranged in age from 11 to 17 years old. Court documents say she also told investigators that she engaged in sexual conversations with at least one of the boys, who was in the eighth grade at the time. She was sentenced in February to 60 days in jail or electronic monitoring and up to five years on probation.

Failed to Investigate

According to court records, a Northfield High School student reported the sexually explicit photos to Crombie in March 2024. A statement issued by the Steele County Attorney's Office, which was asked to handle the case to avoid any possible conflict of interest, stated that Crombie did not thoroughly investigate the matter. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's investigation into the former officer's conduct also found evidence of wrongdoing.

Crombie criminal complaint-Rice County court

Alleged Relationship With Teacher

The criminal complaint alleged that Crombie never made a report after students brought the allegations to him. An adult witness in the case also told investigators that Hanson was "seeing another guy, Crombie."

Get our free mobile app

During a court hearing on Friday, Crombie entered a guilty plea to the felony charge in exchange for the dismissal of the charge of misconduct by a public official. He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.