The head girls basketball coach for Barnum High School sexually assaulted one of his players three times this month at his home, according to charges filed in east-central Minnesota.
Andrew J. Palmer, 33, was charged in Carlton County District Court last week with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the assaults that occurred about a week apart at his house in Moose Lake.
Palmer was booked into jail on Tuesday and released Thursday without having to post bail but under court-imposed conditions including having no contact with the 17-year-old. Palmer's attorney, Chris Stocke, said he was not ready yet to comment on the allegations.
Palmer, who had no other duties in the Barnum Public Schools, was fired as head coach on Friday, said Superintendent Mike McNulty. An assistant coach is leading the team on an interim basis.
According to the criminal complaint:
One of the girl's parents contacted Moose Lake police to report Palmer had assaulted the teen.
The girl said Palmer began sending her messages on Snapchat in the fall and later invited her to his home on Jan. 1.
Palmer assaulted the girl, who said she "felt pressure to have sex with [him] because he was her coach and she did not feel like she could say no to him," the charges read.
Similar assaults occurred on Jan. 8 and again on Jan. 16.
During the last assault, the teen said, "when she tried to say 'no,' [Palmer] would get mad at her," the complaint continued.
Paul Walsh
