Paraprofessional arrested for soliciting a child
An educator at a Burnsville charter school is facing criminal charges after he allegedly exchanged sexual messages with an undercover deputy posing as a 15-year-old girl.
The Carver County Attorney’s Office charged Brian Stewart Gay, 36, of Hastings, with seven felony counts on suspicion of describing sexual conduct or soliciting sex through online communications with a minor.
Charging documents state Gay is a paraprofessional at Burnsville STEP Academy. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to the school for comment and is awaiting a response.
A criminal complaint describes Gay messaging a Reddit profile created by a Carver County Sheriff’s Office detective using photos of a “young-looking female.” Gay first messaged the profile on March 4, and the detective responded on March 25, informing Gay she was 15 years old.
Over the course of the next week, Gay described various sexual acts he’d like to perform with the 15-year-old and said he had previously had a relationship with a 15-year-old girl when he was 20.
Gay arranged to meet the undercover detective in Chanhassen on Thursday, and he was arrested and booked into the Carver County Jail.
At a bail hearing on Friday, a judge set his bond at $20,000 with conditions or $200,000 without conditions. Gay’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 10.
