A former Burnsville High School music teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student pleaded guilty Monday to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, according to Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom’s office.

Erik Michael Akervik, 30, of Burnsville, allegedly had sex with the student and sent nude photos of himself to another student, according to the county attorney. At the time of the acts, Akervik was a teacher at Burnsville High School, where he was employed since August 2013. He was arrested in April 2017 at the high school.

A student reported that Akervik added him as a friend on several social media apps and websites about a year before the arrest. Three weeks before Akervik was taken into custody, the teacher was communicating with the student via Snapchat and allegedly sent a message that said “I’d like to get to know you closer and better.” Those communications continued for two or three days and during the conversation the student began to receive nude photos from Akervik. The student later acquired a third-party phone app that would allow him to save the photos. Police were able to recover a full-body naked photo of Akervik from the student’s phone, according to the attorney’s office.

During the conversation with the student, Akervik admitted to “taking the virginity of a 15 or 16 year old,” and made comments leading to the possible identity of this 15 or 16 year old. Based upon information provided by school officials, police made contact with another Burnsville High School student. That student reported to police that Akervik had invited him over to his apartment in Burnsville in December of 2016. While Akervik and the student were watching television, Akervik started kissing the student. Akervik proceeded to engage in a sexual act with this student who was 16 at the time.

At the time of Akervik’s arrest, the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District said it received a complaint about the teacher on April 8, 2017 and “immediately began an investigation.”

“We contacted the local law authorities and are now cooperating with their criminal investigation,” a statement from the district said.

The statement added that “Due to data practices laws, the district is limited in what we can speak to, however we find the reported allegations to be very upsetting. We are committed to fully working with the Burnsville Police Department in their investigation and take appropriate action to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for our students.”

Akervik was taken back into custody after police learned that on April 26, 2017, the former music teacher contacted a 15-year-old boy on Instagram and asked the boy to follow him on the social media site. According to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, the boy was known to Akervik through Mount Olivet Church, where Akervik also worked as a choir director. One of the conditions of Akervik’s release was to have no contact with minors.

Akervik was also charged with a second count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct from the same act involving the same victim, which was dismissed.

The charge of electronic solicitation of a child, which is a felony, was previously severed by the court and is not set for jury trial on July 9, 2018.