Former Bemidji charter school teacher sentenced for child sex abuse material

BEMIDJI — A former Bemidji charter school teacher received a prison sentence for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Thirty-one-year-old Austin Claseman pleaded guilty to two of seven felony charges in February and was sentenced to 41 months on Tuesday, April 28. In Minnesota, two-thirds of a sentence is typically served in prison with the remaining third on supervised parole.

Claseman is anticipated to be released in November 2027 and expected to remain under Minnesota Department of Corrections supervision through 2032. He was also ordered to register as a predatory offender.

Claseman was formerly employed at Voyageurs Expeditionary High School as a teacher and a board member. The Beltrami County Sheriff's Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in June 2025, alleging the offending material was distributed from a Bemidji IP address.

The investigation determined Claseman was part of a “Teachers for Students” group chat that disseminated child sexual abuse material. Voyageurs school leaders made a statement at the time of Claseman’s arrest that the conduct did not take place on school property and did not involve students or staff.

As of Monday, Claseman remains in county custody while listed as incarcerated with the Minnesota Department of Corrections.