Criminal charges have been dismissed against the former principal and assistant principal of a St. Paul school where a custodian allegedly touched a student inappropriately, exposed his genitals to another and followed boys into the bathroom.

Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro dismissed the charges against Beth A. Behnke and Craig A. Guidry, saying there wasn't probable cause to believe that they had reason to suspect that the custodian acted with sexual intent when he allegedly smacked a boy's buttocks in 2012.

"The swatting on the butt of a minor male by an adult male, without more, would give reasonable people reason to believe that the act had been done without sexual or aggressive intent," said Castro's orders, signed Dec. 5 and made public Tuesday. "It is a common disciplinary practice."

Behnke and Guidry each were charged in July in Ramsey County District Court with one misdemeanor count of failing to report the maltreatment of a minor. Minnesota law requires people such as educators and clergy members to report suspected neglect and physical or sexual abuse within 24 hours of learning of it.

Behnke was principal and Guidry was assistant principal at Linwood Monroe Arts Plus in 2011-12 when custodian Walter J. Happel allegedly smacked an eighth-grade boy's buttocks in the lunchroom.

The boy told his special education teacher, and subsequently Behnke and Guidry, that Happel had smacked him and said that people in prison "get [expletive]" for wearing sagging pants.

Beth Behnke

Behnke and Guidry were charged this year after investigations into Happel's alleged misconduct with students led authorities to scrutinize school officials' response to previous allegations.

Castro said in his orders that he was "troubled" that other mandated reporters at the school, who he said included a social worker and a human resources employee, also knew of the 2012 incident but were not charged.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom issued a written statement Tuesday disagreeing with Castro. His office charged the cases due to a conflict of interest.

The human resources employee was not a mandated reporter, Backstrom said, and the social worker was a mandated reporter but didn't know about a previously alleged incident involving Happel.

Another student's mother had informed school officials in late 2011 that Happel followed her son into a bathroom, exposed himself to the boy and said, "It's a big thing."

Behnke and Guidry had the most complete knowledge of Happel's alleged behavior, Backstrom said.

Happel, 62, who resigned from St. Paul public schools after a 30-year career, is charged in eight cases in Ramsey County District Court, six of them involving students at Linwood Monroe.

Behnke is principal of Falcon Heights Elementary with Roseville Area Schools, and Guidry is assistant principal at Jackson Elementary in St. Paul.

"It was something that weighed heavily on both of my clients," said their attorney, Peter Wold, "and their relief is palpable."

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708

Twitter: @ChaoStrib