Content advisory: this article contains graphic details
Leah VanDassor, president of the St. Paul Federation of Educators and a veteran middle school teacher, recently made headlines with statements calling Republicans “authoritarian” and “fascist,” and accusing them of targeting BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. She also called the Trump administration “dangerous” with a goal of “tearing families apart.”
In its reporting on VanDassor, Alpha News has uncovered troubling aspects surrounding her own family life.
One case involves a 2018 attempted sexual assault of a preteen boy inside the home she shared with her then-husband, Russ VanDassor, while another stems from a 2007 allegation in which one of their daughters accused Russ of sexual abuse, according to court records.
Although Russ was charged in April 2019, it does not appear that his prior marriage to Leah has ever been reported—until now.
The VanDassors were married from 1995 to 2019, and while Leah VanDassor has never been charged with criminal wrongdoing, Russ VanDassor pleaded guilty to felony attempted criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 and was sentenced to 72 months in prison in January 2020. With 283 days of credit for time served, Russ was released in April 2023 and will spend 10 years on supervised release, according to Department of Corrections records.
According to public records, the VanDassors filed for divorce in July 2019—three months after authorities filed felony sex abuse charges against Russ. According to public records, the couple combined their original surnames, LaDassor (Leah) and VanWagner (Russ), into VanDassor. The former couple appear to remain connected on Facebook.
Over their 24-year marriage, the VanDassors appear to have adopted multiple children who are now adults, according to Facebook photos and records reviewed by Alpha News. Alpha News has blurred the identities of the children in the photo below.
Disturbing encounter with 11-year-old boy inside the couple’s home
According to a criminal complaint, Russ first met the boy, identified as “ZS,” at church in 2017, and began inviting the child to the home he shared with Leah in the fall 2018. The address Leah lists in divorce records is the same address listed in the criminal complaint.
According to the complaint, during a December 2018 visit to the VanDassor residence, Russ showed the 11-year-old boy two “dildos” and an iPad that had “crude” websites on it. Afterward, Russ asked if he could perform oral sex on the child, the complaint says.
Russ then told the boy to “pull his pants down and … asked if he could suck ZS’s penis. ZS told him ‘No.’ [Russ] then came over to ZS and pulled ZS’s pants down and asked if he could suck on his penis. ZS said no and slapped [Russ’s] hand away and pulled his pants up. [Russ] then gave him a ride home,” according to the criminal complaint.
The boy later told his mother what happened, and she contacted the police.
A short time later, St. Paul police executed a search warrant at Leah and Russ VanDassor’s residence.
According to the criminal complaint, authorities discovered “sexual aids and lubricants” along with several electronic devices. An examination of Russ VanDassor’s cellphone uncovered a photo of a young boy with his genitals exposed, matching the description of ZS, the complaint says. The boy’s mother later identified the child in the image as her son.
Officers subsequently arrested VanDassor for attempted criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and for an indecent exposure warrant out of Dakota County.
Lewd park encounter with police
Russ VanDassor’s indecent exposure warrant stemmed from when police discovered him masturbating in a Rosemount park after hours, the complaint notes.
According to the complaint, police found Russ inside a minivan with a bottle of lubricant and his “penis was hanging out of his pants.”
He told officers that he went to the park to masturbate after learning that the man he arranged to have sex with was not home, the complaint says.
Allegations from the couple’s daughter
The complaint also explains how, in 2007, one of the VanDassors daughters, who was 12 years old at the time, reported to her school that Russ had sexually abused her and her siblings.
According to the complaint, “the defendant’s then 12-year-old daughter had reported at school that the defendant had come into her room and sexually abused her. She reported that her siblings were also being sexually abused by the defendant. She later recanted the allegations and charges were not filed. The other children in the home were seen at Midwest Children’s Resource Center and did not disclose sexual abuse at that time.”
No response from Leah VanDassor
Alpha News contacted Leah VanDassor to ask whether she was aware that her then-husband, Russ, had brought an 11-year-old boy to their home on multiple occasions and whether she had any concerns about it.
She did not respond to our inquiry, which also included a question about the 2007 allegations.
Leah VanDassor has not been accused or charged with any crime related to Russ VanDassor.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
