A longtime educator in St. Louis Park is out of a job and facing criminal charges after two students reported that he touched them inappropriately at a local learning center.
Gerald Patrick Heaney, 65, has been charged in Hennepin County with two counts of fifth‑degree criminal sexual conduct. School leaders say Heaney is no longer employed at Groves and that they are working with investigators as the case moves through the courts.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County, police received a report on March 3 alleging misconduct at Groves Learning Organization. Investigators say a 19‑year‑old woman told them Heaney grabbed her, put his hands on her hips, touched her lower back, and, on one occasion, her bra and breast. A second student, a 17‑year‑old girl, reported that Heaney repeatedly patted her butt and called her “really cute” and “really pretty.”…