Former Eagle Butte teacher charged

Associated Press

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (AP) - A 51-year-old man charged in the fondling of two girls at a Wal-Mart store here has been a teacher in elementary schools.

James Irving Rigenhagen was charged Thursday with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was in Hennepin County Jail on Thursday with bail set at $100,000.

Rigenhagen was licensed to teach in Minnesota in 2000, but he never taught in the state. In recent years, he has taught at elementary schools in Akhiok, Alaska, and Eagle Butte, S.D., and he taught 8- and 9-year-olds at the International School of Kosice in Slovakia.

He was arrested Monday after a June 27 incident in Maple Grove, where he is accused of putting his hand down the shirts of two girls, ages 8 and 10, prosecutors said. The incidents allegedly happened about three hours apart, and the girls were in the toy section of the store.