TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse Academy teacher was taken into police custody following allegations of a past relationship with a student at another school, according to local law enforcement.
John Dirk Vanpatten, 51, was arrested on school property before 12 p.m. on Monday morning by Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives, according to Investigative Services Division Capt. Chris Clark.
Emmet County Sheriff’s Office contacted them earlier that morning and asked Grand Traverse County deputies to arrest Vanpatten on an outstanding warrant out of Emmet County, according to court records.
Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin confirmed that Vanpatten was in custody as of Tuesday afternoon and that he faces 14 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Charges stem from an alleged sexual relationship that Vanpatten had with a 16-year-old female student at Concord Academy in Petoskey between 2017 and 2019, according to Wallin.
Officials from Concord Academy and GTA did not respond to requests for comment.
GTA parents said at after-school pick-up on Tuesday that they had received an email from the school directing all further questions to the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office.
Vanpatten was not listed on GTA’s staff directory on the website as of Tuesday morning.
Charges against Vanpatten stem from one victim at Concord Academy in Petoskey, Wallin confirmed, but as a result, his office is asking for other potential victims to come forward.
“We understand the courage it takes to come forward in situations like this, and we want to assure potential victims that their privacy will be fully respected,” Emmet County Undersheriff Matt Leirstein said in a media release. “We would like to remind the public that we will never release the names of the survivors.”
Anyone with additional information on this case or on other victims is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s office at 231-439-8900 and can also call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Vanpatten’s arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. in 90th District Court in Petoskey, according to the court docket.
Record-Eagle reporter Travis Snyder contributed to this report.