Former DeLaSalle band and choir teacher charged with sexually assaulting student

A Twin Cities gospel musician who has worked at several metro high schools allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted a student in 2022 at Minneapolis’ DeLaSalle High, where he taught choir and band.

Daniel James Felton, 31, of Brooklyn Park was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct Thursday in Hennepin County District Court.

Felton allegedly used social media apps to begin sexual conversations with his student before sexually assaulting her over the course of five months.

In February, the victim, identified as Jane Doe, also sued DeLaSalle and Felton. That lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in July 2025.

According to court documents:

Felton was hired at DeLaSalle in 2020 and began teaching his alleged victim when she was about 16 years old and he was about 28. A little more than a year later, he began sending her direct messages on Instagram; the conversations eventually turned sexual and romantic. He asked her how many people she had slept with, told her he was sexually unfulfilled in his marriage and that he could help her gain sexual experience.

In one message included in the lawsuit, Felton wrote: “I’ll show you some stuff after you graduate. Can’t give all the secrets before then.”

Soon afterward, Felton gave the student a ride home and began touching her intimately. She froze and asked to go home. The rides later continued, often once or twice weekly between April and August 2022. The victim said Felton would force her into oral sex and assaulted her with his fingers.

The victim feared that if she refused the rides, Felton might tell her mother what was happening.

The lawsuit alleges that Felton also sexually assaulted the student in his office at DeLaSalle and told her that he had left his previous teaching position because of allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor female student.

Police obtained direct messages between the two that included Felton telling his victim multiple times that he loved her and that he wanted to have sex with her.

The victim blocked Felton on all social media apps in the fall of 2022. By that point, he had left DeLaSalle.

Felton was not in custody Thursday.

“We are happy to see that Defendant Felton is facing accountability through the criminal system,” Naomi Martin, the attorney for the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement. “We will reserve further comments until the conclusion of his criminal case.”

A DeLaSalle spokesperson said in a statement that Felton left the school in summer 2022.

“DeLaSalle was not aware of these allegations at any time when either the student attended the school or when DeLaSalle employed Felton,” the spokesperson said.

“As soon as we learned of the allegation, the school immediately reported this to the Minneapolis Police Department. We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this process moves forward,” the statement said.

“Before Felton was hired, Felton completed a required comprehensive criminal background check, and the review did not reveal any criminal violations before his employment. DeLaSalle is committed to the safety of its students and to the future success of its students.”

No attorney was listed for Felton on the criminal charges, and messages left with the attorney representing him in the civil suit were not immediately returned.

Felton, a University of Minnesota graduate with a master’s degree in music education, won a Gospel Music Choice Awards in the Instrumental Artist of the Year category in 2021.

In a statement before a performance that year at Northrop Plaza on the U campus, he wrote: “In a time where people are going through so much and can’t breathe, the breath of God can be there to give us the air that we need to breathe.”

A biography attached to the performance noted that Felton had taught music in Minneapolis, Osseo and Spring Lake Park. After leaving DeLaSalle, he taught at Tartan High in Oakdale, though he is no longer listed as an active employee at the school.

Felton has the highest level of educator license with the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, and it remains active.