Granite School District fired elementary teacher Eric Christoffersen on Thursday, Sept. 24, the same day prosecutors charged him with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

The district serves roughly 59,000 students across 85 schools, including Holladay-area campuses such as Olympus High. Christoffersen, 40, of Kearns, faces first-degree felony charges in 3rd District Court after three 11-year-old female students told investigators he touched them inappropriately at Arcadia Elementary in Taylorsville, according to ABC4. The district placed Christoffersen on leave in April when the allegations first surfaced.

Prosecutors allege in charging documents that Christoffersen used his position of trust to target the students, KSL reported. The victims said he touched their buttocks repeatedly during school hours, at recess and in hallways, and would find reasons to hug them.

One student told investigators Christoffersen would ask for hugs and pat her buttocks. She said he once picked her up by her arms and touched her when he set her down, and that he would pretend it was an accident despite using force, according to court documents.

A second student said Christoffersen called her to his desk and grabbed her buttocks while lifting her. She also told investigators he commented on her leg in a sexual manner when she showed him a bruise.

A third student said Christoffersen asked her for hugs multiple times a day and would act upset when she declined. When she did hug him, he touched her buttocks, she told investigators.

In a police interview cited in court documents, Christoffersen admitted he asks students for hugs and acknowledged that "during the hugs there were 'pats on the butt' and that it did not go further than that." He also said he did not know if the touching had occurred or was incidental, and called the students liars and "attention seekers."

Investigators also found that Christoffersen had been contacting witnesses and victims' families, asking them to speak on his behalf, according to charging documents. Victims were being harassed by the defendant's family members, and Christoffersen sought to send a cease-and-desist letter to one victim for calling him a "creep," KSL reported.

Officers requested Christoffersen be held without bail, citing his continued access to children.

A warrant was issued for his arrest.

In a statement, Granite School District said it investigated the allegations alongside law enforcement in April 2026 and that Christoffersen had been on leave since. After learning prosecutors would file charges, the district moved to end his employment.

Each count of aggravated sexual abuse of a child carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison under Utah law. The case is pending in 3rd District Court.

Anyone with concerns about child abuse can contact the Utah Division of Child and Family Services 24/7 hotline at 855-323-3237.