AITKIN — A 77-year-old man is accused of providing alcohol to a juvenile on multiple occasions while serving as a substitute teacher at Aitkin High School. .
Guy Willard Blessing was charged Wednesday, Feb. 24, in Aitkin County District Court with gross misdemeanor of furnishing alcohol to a minor, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail or a $3,000 fine or both.
The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office Monday investigated a report of an Aitkin High School substitute teacher having provided a juvenile with alcohol. The investigation revealed the substitute teacher had befriended a student and had, on multiple occasions, provided that student with alcohol, the sheriff’s office reported.
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Blessing was arrested Tuesday.
During his court appearance Wednesday, Blessing was released on conditions of no contact with the student and no unsupervised contact with any persons under the age of 18. His next court appearance is April 19.
According to the complaint filed against Blessing, a 17-year-old told the deputy he became friends with Blessing the prior year. The juvenile was at Blessing’s home in Aitkin Township multiple times helping him with yard work and dock work.
The juvenile stated on Monday he was at Blessing’s residence and Blessing offered the juvenile a beer, which was accepted. The juvenile stated Blessing had given the juvenile a beer on
previous occasions. Blessing kept asking if the juvenile wanted another beer, which made the juvenile feel pressured to drink more. The juvenile refused to accept another beer from Blessing.
The sheriff’s office notified the Aitkin High School administration of this offense, in concern for public safety. The school provided the comment that as of Tuesday, Blessing will no longer substitute teach at Aitkin High School.
