A central Minnesota middle school teacher was charged Monday with sexually assaulting a female high school student at school and elsewhere over roughly one year.

Albany High School staff member Daniel S. Fragodt, 31, of Melrose, was charged in Stearns County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Fragodt remains jailed and made his first court appearance Monday.

District Superintendent Greg Johnson said administrators received a complaint about Fragodt on March 25, put him on administrative leave and alerted police the next day.

Fragodt is a math teacher and assistant girls basketball coach, along with assistant coach for boys and girls track and cross-country teams, according to online school rosters. His online resume says he joined the School District in 2014.

He also was a standout athlete at Benson High School, where he played basketball, football and tennis, and was a state champion hurdler in track. After graduating in 2007, he played basketball and tennis while studying at the University of Minnesota Morris.

Fragodt was released from jail on his own recognizance Monday. His attorney declined to comment on the allegations.

According to the criminal complaint:

A 14-year-old girl said in an interview with a child advocacy agency that Fragodt touched her sexually over her clothing several times and she knew he was "in a relationship" with someone else that he taught and coached, the complaint read. One of those incidents occurred in his classroom last month.

Police searched Fragodt's cellphone and turned up extensive contact with another student.

In an interview with an older student, she said her sexual encounters with Fragodt began when she was 17 years old and occurred at school, a park-and-ride lot in St. Joseph and elsewhere in Albany.

The complaint said the encounters spanned from August 2018 to August 2019.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482