Gagne Won’t Get Jail for Sex With Cretin Derham Hall Student
STAR TRIBUNE (Mpls.-St. Paul) Newspaper of the Twin Cities
Date: 02/07/11
MINNEAPOLIS - A jury trial was waived Monday for Gail Gagne, a former Cretin Derham Hall teacher accused of having sex with a former student she supervised in the school’s weight room.
Gagne is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The charges allege Gagne had sex on several occasions with a then-16-year-old student in the summer of 2008. She was 25 at the time.
Jury selection was originally scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, but that was postponed and the case turned into a "stipulate the facts" trial. What that means is neither side disputes the facts of the case, therefore making a jury trial unnecessary.
One of the charges against Gagne was dropped Monday, and attorneys were submitting a stipulation of the facts to the judge for the remaining charge. The judge will then render a verdict for the gross misdemeanor. If found guilty, Gagne faces two years probation and will not spend any time in jail. Sentencing is set for March 28.
When the allegations surfaced, school administrators at Cretin Derham Hall put Gagne on leave and sent a letter to parents explaining only that a female employee was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Gagne is the granddaughter of wrestling legend Verne Gagne, who was involved in the death of a fellow resident at the Friendship Village Nursing Home in Bloomington back in January. She is also the daughter of Greg Gagne, Verne's son and a well-known professional wrestler in his own right.
Gail Gagne was hired at Cretin Derham Hall in November 2007 as an assistant basketball coach and was a substitute teacher from January 2008 through September 2008 before taking a full-time teaching position at the school.