Christopher Chad

VIRGINIA- Former Rock Ridge High School Dean of Students Christopher Chad now faces three felony criminal sexual conduct charges in St. Louis County involving a former student.
The charges come more than a year after Chad was arrested in Eveleth and extradited to Georgia on unrelated child exploitation charges.
The charges, filed Monday in St. Louis County District Court, stem from allegations reported to law enforcement in December 2025 by the now 19-year-old former student. According to the criminal complaint, investigators determined the alleged conduct occurred between 2021 and 2023, when Chad served as the student’s teacher, speech coach, and principal.
Chad, 52, is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. The complaint alleges the offenses occurred over a period of nearly three years while the student was between the ages of 14 and 16.
The charges represent a significant turn in an investigation that began last year. When authorities announced Chad’s arrest in March 2025, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said investigators had found no evidence suggesting any local victims.
In December 2025, the former student reported the allegations to the Gilbert Police Department and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the probable cause statement, investigators reviewed electronic communications provided by the former student and concluded there was sufficient evidence to seek criminal charges. The complaint alleges multiple incidents of unlawful sexual contact between Chad and the student occurred between the spring of 2021 and late 2023 at locations in Gilbert and Virginia.
The charges filed in St. Louis County include one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct alleging sexual penetration involving a victim between the ages of 13 and 15 while Chad occupied a position of authority, along with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct alleging prohibited sexual contact during the same general time period. The offenses are alleged to have occurred between April 2021 and December 2023.
Because Chad remains in custody in Georgia, he is not expected to return to Minnesota to face the St. Louis County charges until those proceedings have concluded. A St. Louis County judge this week issued a nationwide warrant and detention order in the Minnesota case.
Chad’s case first came to public attention with his arrest in March 2025.
Authorities said the investigation began after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension notified the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office about cybertip reports tied to a child exploitation investigation in Georgia. Investigators executed search warrants in Eveleth and Virginia before Chad was arrested at his Eveleth home on a Georgia warrant and later extradited to face charges there. Investigators traced the Georgia investigation to Chad, who at the time was serving as dean of students at Rock Ridge High School.