MN Investigation of August Lopez Murder-Suicide Victims Reveals Sexual Allegations

[Editor’s Note: On August 25 of this year, San Juan County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call from a kayaker who reported a deceased male on the beach at the 3500 block of Fisherman Bay road on Lopez Island. The Sheriff’s Office responded and discovered a second male also deceased. The cause of death was from gunshot wounds. The deaths were ruled a murder-suicide in San Juan County. The victims were later identified as school teachers from South St. Paul, Minnesota. Read original Orcas Issues story.]

— from Twin Cities Pioneer Press —

A South St. Paul elementary school teacher and his husband allegedly had sexual contact with eight underage boys over several years, according to police documents released Tuesday.

South St. Paul police closed their four-month investigation into teacher Aric Babbitt and Matthew Deyo last week, and the 134-page case file obtained by the Pioneer Press on Tuesday shows the scope and extent of the alleged sexual contact and inappropriate conduct.

The investigation began Aug. 14 after a 16-year-old boy and his parents went to South St. Paul police to report “an ongoing sexual relationship” with Babbitt and Deyo. The couple were found dead, an apparent murder-suicide, in Washington state eight days later. Neither man had been charged with a crime.

Although police have said previously that they suspected additional victims, the number was not clear until the case file was released.

“This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved,” South St. Paul police Cmdr. Phil Oeffling said Tuesday. He said with the case now closed, the department would not be issuing further comment.

In addition to the eight underage boys, police also identified a man who allegedly was unknowingly videotaped nude in Babbitt and Deyo’s South St. Paul home.

The redacted case file includes victims who came forward with allegations after the investigation became public, as well as others identified through photos and videos on phones, computers and media devices that belonged to Babbitt and Deyo.

The file also paints a partial picture of what Babbitt, 40, and Deyo, 36, did in their final days.

Babbitt, a teacher at Lincoln Center Elementary since 2002, was put on paid leave by South St. Paul schools after the district learned of the allegations Aug. 17.

SOURCE: Twin Cities Pioneer Press