A former St. Thomas Academy teacher has been charged on four counts after admitting in May that she smoked marijuana with students and bought them alcohol.
Kristin Marie Vanyo, 45, was charged Wednesday with two gross misdemeanor counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct for smoking pot with students, said Jeremy Knutson, prosecuting attorney for Mendota Heights, where the all-male Catholic prep school is located.
Knutson said the alleged crimes did not rise to the felony level. In addition, there was no evidence of sexual contact between the teacher and students, who were 18 at the time.
Vanyo, who was fired by the school in May, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In a May interview with police investigators, according to court documents, Vanyo said she bought $120 worth of alcohol for students before the school’s military ball and prom; wrote a paper for a student in exchange for marijuana; and bought marijuana from a student.
In a follow-up interview with police, Vanyo said she picked up two students and smoked marijuana with them in her car at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Inver Grove Heights.
The penalty for a gross misdemeanor is a maximum of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine; for a misdemeanor, it’s a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.