Former Minnesota drama teacher says he's innocent of abuse

FARIBAULT, Minn. (AP) — A former teacher at a Faribault prep school says he's innocent of charges that accuse him of sexually abusing six male students.

Seventy-one-year-old Lynn Seibel says he misses teaching at Shattuck-St. Mary's boarding school where he worked for more than a decade and was once named teacher of the year.

In a jailhouse interview with Minnesota Public Radio News, Seibel says he prays he will be acquitted and can return to acting in California.

Police arrested Seibel in October after a former Shattuck-St. Mary's student told a probation officer that he was sexually assaulted by the drama teacher. Seibel faces 17 felony counts in Rice County, including second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

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