The choir director for a small school district in northwestern Minnesota has been charged with sexually assaulting a girl half his age during a visit to a cabin.
Richard J. Schrom, 30, of Fertile, was charged Monday in Todd County District Court with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with assaulting the 15-year-old girl last month.
Schrom is now on administrative leave from his job with the Fertile-Beltrami School District. His online biography says he's in his seventh year with the district, where he directed choirs at all school levels and gave voice lessons as well. The charges did not say whether the girl is a student in the district.
Schrom was arrested at school Friday, booked into jail and released on $2,500 bail. Court records do not list an attorney for him. Messages were left Wednesday with Schrom seeking his response to the allegations.
Schrom's online biography says he graduated from Roseville High School in 2011, earned a bachelor's degree in music from North Dakota State University followed by a master's in music education from NDSU in 2022.
According to the charges:
A nurse at St. Cloud Hospital alerted the Todd County Sheriff's Office about a 15-year-old girl who was there for a sexual assault exam.
A sheriff's investigator determined that Schrom was suspected of assaulting the girl in the Grey Eagle area.
