By: Mollee Francisco

A Chaska High School teacher has been arrested and charged with third-degree sexual misconduct.

Principal Paul McMahan sent a letter to parents of CHS students Wednesday informing them that the Chaska Police Department had arrested 28-year-old Julia Lund.

According to Carver County District Attorney Mike Fahey, Lund was arrested on Tuesday. Lund is an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at CHS.

According to Nancy Kracke, director of community and staff relations for District 112, Lund was in her second year of teaching at the school.

"We are shocked that one of our staff would be accused of something like this and, without rushing to judgment, we are cooperating fully with law enforcement," said McMahan in his letter.

According to the letter, the minor male allegedly involved was a student at the school, but was not in any of Lund's classes.

Fahey said the male is a 17-year-old. In this case, third-degree sexual conduct involves sexual penetration with a victim older than 16 but younger than 18 by a person in a position of authority.

School officials were alerted to a possible problem about a week ago, Kracke said. Lund was placed on administrative leave last week and will remain on leave "until the conclusion of the legal process," the letter stated.

McMahan stated that school officials believed that only one student was involved. "It doesn't appear that anything illegal took place at school," the letter stated.

McMahan's letter indicated that school officials began an internal investigation and placed Lund on administrative leave upon learning of a possible problem. "We kept our school police liaison officer informed and, as our investigation uncovered additional facts, we turned it over to law enforcement officers to pursue," the letter read. "Ms. Lund's arrest is a result of their investigation."

Kracke said that McMahan had yet to receive any calls of concern from parents as of Thursday morning.

Lund’s bail was set at $2,000 cash or $20,000 bond in a hearing on Wednesday. She posted bail that same day, Fahey said.

According to the conditions of her release, Lund cannot go to the high school without the permission of the principal.

If she is allowed on the high school campus, she must be escorted by a member of the school district staff. She also cannot have contact with the alleged victim, Fahey said.

Lund could not be reached for comment. She will make her first appearance in Carver County District Court on Friday morning.