A veteran English teacher at Mounds View High School has resigned and is due in Ramsey County District Court Thursday morning to face charges of sexually assaulting a student.

Ramsey County prosecutors allege that Ted Matthew Bennett, 58, began texting with a 16-year-old girl in the spring and that their communications "turned to hands on sexual contact" in October.

According to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday, the girl had told Bennett that she'd been going through some hard times and had nobody else to talk to.

On Friday, the teen's friend and her boyfriend reported concerns about the relationship to school staff, who in turn informed Principal Rob Reetz.

In an email to parents and staff on Wednesday, Reetz said that Bennett had resigned and that the school stands “with all su

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