SOUTH DAKOTA
Black Hills Pioneer

Posted: Thursday, August 21, 2014

By Heather Murschel Black Hills Pioneer

SPEARFISH — A St. Thomas More teacher was arrested for possession of child pornography and terminated from his position within the Rapid City Catholic School System.

Authorities say Andrew Hiipakka, 26, of Rapid City allegedly had numerous images that exploit children for sexual gratification on his personal computer.

Tuesday’s arrest came after detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force confirmed a tip they had been given last week that led to a search warrant at the middle school teacher’s residence.

Black Hills Fugitive Task Force took Hippakka into custody without incident.

Detectives discovered that he was employed as a teacher, and after contacting the Rapid City Catholic School System about the investigation they “immediately” terminated Hippakka’s employment.