Derrick Lee Pfeffer, a former Hastings athlete with decades of connections to the local baseball community, is facing 13 felony charges in Washington County involving allegations of sexual conduct with an underage former student and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Pfeffer, 42, of Baldwin, Wisconsin, was arrested Sept. 24 in Rosemount and booked into the Washington County Jail shortly after 5 p.m. Jail records show Cottage Grove Police Detective Jeffrey Rydeen made the arrest on a warrant.

The Washington County criminal complaint charges Pfeffer with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, nine counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and one count of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

The allegations center on a former Hope Christian Academy student who was 14 when the conduct described in the complaint allegedly began. The probable cause section of the complaint also describes allegations made by a second former student, who was also underage at the time of the conduct she reported.

Because both are juveniles, the Journal is withholding their names and other unnecessary identifying details while including information needed to explain how they knew Pfeffer and how the investigation developed.

The first former student attended Hope Christian Academy in St. Paul Park for ninth and 10th grade from fall 2023 through spring 2025. According to the complaint, Pfeffer worked at the school from fall 2022 through December 2024 as a teacher and athletic director. Hope Christian Academy later described his positions as teacher's aide and athletic director.

The complaint says the student also became close with Pfeffer's family outside school, spent time at the family's Cottage Grove home and occasionally babysat for Pfeffer's children.

The investigation began Aug. 3, when the girl's mother brought her to the Inver Grove Heights Police Department to report alleged criminal sexual conduct. The matter was referred to the St. Paul Park Police Department and ultimately investigated by Cottage Grove police.

According to the complaint, the former student told investigators that Pfeffer began making inappropriate comments toward her in January 2024, when she was 14 years old.

She told investigators the relationship changed after those comments. The complaint alleges sexual contact began several months later while Pfeffer was still employed at Hope Christian Academy and that some of the alleged conduct occurred at the school.

The first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge alleges sexual penetration involving a person who was at least 14 but younger than 16, with Pfeffer more than 36 months older and in a current or recent position of authority. The charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine.

The second-degree charge alleges sexual contact involving a juvenile between 14 and 15 years old and an adult more than 36 months older who held a current or recent position of authority. It carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.

The fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charge alleges additional sexual contact while the former student remained under 16.

The complaint says Pfeffer left Hope Christian Academy for another position at the end of December 2024 and received his final paycheck Dec. 30.

Investigators allege the relationship continued after Pfeffer left the school.

According to the complaint, the former student and Pfeffer communicated extensively through Instagram, including through the platform's disappearing-message feature. She told investigators sexually explicit photographs were exchanged and that she sometimes received notifications showing Pfeffer had taken screenshots of images she sent.

Cottage Grove police executed a search warrant for Pfeffer's cellphone Sept. 14.

The complaint says Pfeffer was advised of his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with Rydeen. According to the complaint, Pfeffer acknowledged knowing the former student through Hope Christian Academy and having a close relationship with her.

The complaint further states that Pfeffer admitted sexual contact occurred between the two and that they exchanged nude photographs using their cellphones.

Investigators later reviewed data recovered from Pfeffer's phone. According to the complaint, Rydeen found numerous nude photographs of the former student along with messages between her and Pfeffer. Prosecutors allege nine images recovered from the phone form the basis of the nine felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse material.

Each possession count carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Pfeffer is also charged with solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

A second former Hope Christian Academy student contacted investigators the following day.

According to the complaint, the second juvenile contacted Rydeen Sept. 15 and then went to the Cottage Grove Police Department with her mother to provide a statement.

She told investigators she first met Pfeffer when she was 12 years old and attending Hope Christian Academy as a seventh grader. The complaint says Pfeffer routinely invited her to events at his home and provided transportation for her.

According to the complaint, the second juvenile alleged that a sexual relationship began in August 2026, when she was 15, and included multiple acts of sexual contact and penetration at locations in Wisconsin and Cottage Grove.

The 13 counts contained in the Sept. 24 complaint are based on allegations involving the first former student. The allegations made by the second juvenile are included in the probable cause section but are not listed as separate charges in that complaint.

Hope Christian Academy informed families of the allegations in a Sept. 25 email.

The school said Pfeffer served as a teacher's aide and athletic director from fall 2022 through December 2024 and confirmed that two former students had come forward.

“Hope Christian Academy is fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to provide any assistance requested throughout the investigation,” the school wrote.

The school said it was also reviewing and strengthening its safety and security measures.

“The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priority,” the school said.

The school told families it was limited in what it could discuss because of the ongoing investigation and asked that the privacy of those involved be respected.

The charges have drawn particular attention in Hastings because Pfeffer has longstanding ties to the community and its athletic programs.

Pfeffer, an early-2000s graduate of Hastings High School, played hockey for the Raiders and was a member of Hastings teams that reached the Minnesota Class AA state tournament in both 2000 and 2001.

The 2000 Raiders finished third in Class AA, and Pfeffer scored twice during that state tournament. His longest local athletic connection, however, has been baseball.

Former Hastings Hawks manager Chip Knoll confirmed Pfeffer joined the amateur baseball team immediately after graduating from Hastings High School. Knoll said Pfeffer remained with the Hawks through at least the end of Knoll's tenure as manager following the 2006 season.

Pfeffer is believed to be a 2002 graduate of Hastings High School. That timeline is consistent with his May 18, 1984 birth date listed in the criminal complaint.

Pfeffer later spent one season on the Hastings High School baseball coaching staff. Current Raiders head baseball coach Ryan Stoffel confirmed Pfeffer completed that season but did not return the following year after accepting the position at Hope Christian Academy, where the job required him to oversee an after-school sports program.

Pfeffer was also well known within the Hastings baseball community for his knowledge of the game. Some Hastings players worked with him individually, with families arranging private baseball instruction on their own rather than through Hastings High School. He also coached within the Minnesota Blizzard baseball organization. More recently, Pfeffer returned to Hastings adult amateur baseball as a player with the Hastings Hurricanes. The Hurricanes released Pfeffer from the organization shortly after learning of his arrest.

Team officials said players learned of the situation and held a meeting that evening after members had time to accommodate work and family commitments. During the meeting, players quickly and unanimously agreed that fully releasing Pfeffer from the organization was the only option.

“We are all very depressed, disgusted and are left wondering why and we are holding his family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” a Hurricanes team official stated.

The reaction within the Hastings Hawks organization was similar. Hawks team officials said the arrest and allegations were met with shock, surprise, disgust and disappointment, particularly because Pfeffer's connection to the organization dates back to the early 2000s.

That relationship extended beyond Pfeffer's years as a player. Pfeffer's mother-in-law served on the Hawks board and was deeply involved with the organization during the 1990s and 2000s. She was an important part of the work that led to construction of the concession stand at Veterans Park in 1998 and 1999.

Neither the Hawks nor Hurricanes issued a formal public statement, but team officials said the allegations quickly became a major topic of conversation within the Hastings baseball community because of Pfeffer's long history with local baseball.

For the Hawks, that history reaches back more than two decades, beginning when Knoll signed Pfeffer immediately after high school. For the Hurricanes, the relationship was far more current, with Pfeffer recently sharing the field and dugout with players who then had to respond to news of his arrest.

The complaint shows that the law enforcement investigation developed quickly during September.

Police seized Pfeffer's cellphone Sept. 14. The second former student contacted investigators Sept. 15. Rydeen reviewed information retrieved from the phone Sept. 17, according to the complaint.

The complaint was signed Sept. 24.

At the time the complaint was prepared, Pfeffer was not in custody. Authorities requested a warrant, citing the nature of the allegations and concerns for the safety of the juveniles involved.

A judge found probable cause and issued the warrant Sept. 24. The complaint lists bail at $100,000.

Pfeffer was arrested later that afternoon in Rosemount.

At his first court appearance the following day, bail was set at $100,000 with conditions or $200,000 without conditions, according to information reviewed by the Journal. His next court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 4.

The case remains pending in Washington County District Court.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that prosecutors must prove in court. Pfeffer is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.