Former Belle Plaine educator pleads guilty to child endangement

A former Belle Plaine educator received a $288 fine, two years' probation and will be on electronic home monitoring for two months after pleading guilty to a child endangerment charge. He also served five days in jail and received a stay for 360 days.

Michael Vernon Reynolds of Belle Plaine pleaded guilty to child endangerment in Scott County District Court on Oct. 6. A fifth-degree non-consensual sexual contact charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal. Electronic home monitoring begins Friday.

Reynolds was employed as an online learning coordinator for the Belle Plaine School District, but after the charges were filed, the Belle Plaine School Board on May 22 voted 5-0 not to renew his contract for the 2017-18 school year.

The charges stem from a series of incidents that took place in April and May at Reynolds' home. Two foreign exchange students, a 16-year-old female from Spain and a 17-year-old female from Finland, were staying with Reynolds and said he provided them with alcohol and the 16-year-old girl said Reynolds got her drunk four times and served her homemade peanut butter cups laced with marijuana.

On April 1, Reynolds allegedly gave her a bikini wax after serving her three to four alcoholic beverages. Reynolds claimed the alcohol was to ease the pain of waxing.

On April 9, the girl saw Reynolds eating a homemade peanut butter bar and asked if she could have one. Reynolds told her to only eat half of one because they contained marijuana and a whole one would be too strong for her. She admitted to eating half of a peanut butter bar and consuming Red Bull with vodka. Reynolds admitted he purchased marijuana from a friend and mixed approximately 5 milligrams of marijuana in the bars.

On May 9, she received a text message from Reynolds inviting her to go on a secret mission. The following evening, she asked the other foreign exchange student to sleep in her room because she was afraid of what the secret mission would entail. Reynolds allegedly served her three to four Red Bull and vodka drinks that evening.

Reynolds admitting playing Truth or Dare with the girl and touching her arm, hair and lips, but denied the game was sexual.

A search of Reynolds' home turned up 15 peanut butter bars in the freezer, and they tested positive for THC.

Reynolds was ordered not have unsupervised contact with underage females, unless approved; no access to or use of internet without approval; no alcohol or controlled substance use; his computer, cell phone, camera and internet use are subject to searches; he must submit to polygraph examinations as directed; he cannot possess any pornographic or sexually explicit material; he must follow through on individual therapy; he must complete a chemical use assessment and follow all recommendation; follow the recommendations of psycho-sexual training, including boundaries; and remain law-abiding.