EMBARRASS — A former teacher at two Iron Range schools was charged with three felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct Monday, Aug. 18, for allegedly sexually assaulting an adolescent female relative.
Ryan Ross Denzer-Johnson, 43, of Embarrass was arrested Thursday on probable cause. He has been a math teacher at Mesabi East in Aurora since 2023 and taught at Northeast Range in Babbitt before that. He was involved with both schools’ robotics teams.
Mesabi East could not be reached Monday to confirm Denzer-Johnson's employment status.
The 13-year-old victim — identified as Juvenile Female A in documents — told law enforcement on Aug. 12 that Denzer-Johnson began sexually assaulting her over a 16-month period following a knee surgery in 2023, according to the statement of probable cause filed Monday.
The girl stretched every day after her surgery, and Denzer-Johnson helped. He would allegedly touch and penetrate her with his fingers every time he helped her. The assaults stopped when she no longer needed help stretching.
Law enforcement learned the victim had a second knee surgery in 2024. After the first surgery, she needed to stretch two to three times a day.
Denzer-Johnson told law enforcement he was responsible for helping the girl with her stretches, and over time, he began touching her “higher and higher on her body, sometimes over her clothes and sometimes under her clothes,” the filing states.
He allegedly told law enforcement he did this most of the times he helped her and could recall at least three times he penetrated her with his finger but stated, “I can’t tell you that it never happened other times.”
Denzer-Johnson allegedly told his wife about the assaults on Aug. 9, telling her he started two years ago and ended one year ago.
Judge Bhupesh R. Pattni set Denzer-Johnson's bail at $300,000 without conditions or $100,000 with conditions on Monday, at the request of assistant St. Louis County attorney Amber Pederson.
In her bail recommendation, Pederson wrote that Denzer-Johnson “is a danger to Juvenile Female A and the public,” that he was aware for some time that he “was prone to sexually assault minor females” and still taught and worked in youth ministry and on a church advisory board.
Denzer-Johnson also allegedly admitted “that he ‘can’t guarantee that there wasn’t like some grooming ... there probable [sic] was’” before the victim’s knee surgery. Pederson wrote that Denzer-Johnson told law enforcement he watched the victim change in her bedroom using cameras and removed trim on a bathroom door to watch other related juvenile girls naked.
“Defendant took advantage of Juvenile Female A after a significant knee surgery — when Juvenile Female A depended on him the most,” Pederson wrote.
“Despite being aware for some time that he was prone to sexually assault minor females, Defendant put himself in positions with access to minor females.”
Judge Pattni also granted a domestic abuse no contact order.
Denzer-Johnson will make his next appearance Aug. 25, before Judge Andrew R. Peterson. He was still in the St. Louis County Jail as of 2 p.m. Monday.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years, a $40,000 fine or both.