Text messages implicate Anoka baby sitter in abuse

The woman who was watching two toddlers said she only told a friend he could abuse them sexually so that she could set him up for arrest.

By JIM ADAMS, Star Tribune

Last update: April 22, 2008 - 9:58 PM

A 20-year-old baby sitter has been charged with giving a friend permission to have sex with 2-year-old twin girls she was watching in an Anoka home in March and text-messaging him about what sex acts he should do.

Heather A. Peterson also wrote in phone text messages to Andrew J. Cordie that she would take pictures of him having sex with the twins, according to criminal charges filed Friday. Cordie, 20, was charged in March with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct; he is accused of assaulting one of the twins.

Peterson, of Ramsey, was charged in Anoka County District Court with one count of felony child endangerment. According to the charging complaint:

She admitted sending the text messages but told police she did it to set up Cordie to be arrested.

Initially, she showed police text messages in which Cordie talked graphically about having sex with the twins. Later police obtained the dozens of text messages the two had exchanged that day and found comments implicating Peterson, including one from her telling Cordie what time to come to the Anoka home. She admitted to police that she had a prior sexual relationship with Cordie, whom she had seen the night before the assault.

In an interview Tuesday, Peterson, a technical college student, disputed the charge against her. She said she was hoping Cordie would be arrested when police saw his text messages and never thought he would assault the girl.

Anoka Police Chief Philip Johanson said he did not know why Peterson would have been trying to set up Cordie. "It is an odd case," he said.

In an interview, the twins' mother said she feels she has been "betrayed by someone I thought was a friend. I am outraged." She said the daughter who was assaulted had withdrawn socially and wouldn't play with her toys for a while. She said a therapist was coming to provide information on how to help the girl.

The twins' mother said she was home when Peterson was text messaging and saw some of the sexual messages. She said she told Peterson that Cordie was banned from the house. She said she went to the store that evening and returned to find police arresting Cordie, whom she had met the day before.

Peterson has said she initially called police at 4:30 p.m. that day when she became concerned with what Cordie was texting. Police did not go to the home at that time because, they said, no crime had been committed. Peterson called police again about 7 p.m. after Cordie arrived at the home and she saw him sexually assault the girl on a bed.

After reviewing 47 pages of text messaging and other evidence, authorities said the investigation is closed unless new information appears. They don't expect to charge anyone else.

Jim Adams • 612-673-7658

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