A Rock Ridge Public Schools employee was placed on paid administrative leave following a law enforcement investigation involving child exploitation. 

Search warrants were executed at Rock Ridge High School on Thursday, according to the district.  The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Friday that cybertips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led the investigation to Eveleth and Virginia. 

The suspect was located and questioned. Multiple items of evidence were collected, authorities said. No arrests were made and the investigation was ongoing. 

Tips received by the sheriff’s office allegedly involved the solicitation of a minor in Georgia, while the second involved a person receiving child sexual abuse material.

Authorities determined the person lived in Eveleth, but school and law enforcement officials said there was no indication that local victims or students were involved. Rock Ridge Superintendent Dr. Noel Schmidt said “any actions” related to the investigation happened off school grounds.

“It is our belief that this matter is wholly unrelated to the District,” he wrote in a letter to parents.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Iron Range Today that the employee was in an administrative position at the high school. Schmidt declined to confirm the employee’s identity and referenced a Friday statement.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Lake Superior Forensic Technology and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are also involved in the investigation.

Concerned citizens are asked to contact Sgt. Eric Sathers of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office at 218-336-4311.