Minnesota swim coach accused of grooming student's sister via text
A Minnesota swim coach is accused of "grooming type behavior" toward a student's sister, including sending explicit text messages and a nude photo to the 15-year-old girl, according to charges filed Friday.
Blake Le Saint, 36, started texting the girl regularly about a year ago, a criminal complaint states, and her parents contacted authorities in April.
Charges state Le Saint at one time sent the girl a photo to show his child playing with a toy, but in the picture, his fully naked reflection could be seen in a mirror. He then apologized and asked the girl to delete it, according to the charges. Le Saint also allegedly texted the girl about masturbation and pornography, blaming autocorrect and saying he meant to send the texts to other people.
The criminal complaint states Le Saint sent thousands of messages between August 2025 and April 2026.
"It appeared [Le Saint] was routinely the one sending messages, initiating contact each day in the morning, saying good night at the end of the day, telling [the girl] he loves her, offering [her] goods or services, attempting to get [her] to come be with him, mentioning or offering physical contact (often cuddling), and generally appeared to be grooming type behavior," the complaint states.
Le Saint also introduced the girl to "his cousin Taylor," who sent similarly lewd messages and turned out to be Le Saint using a burner phone, according to the charges.
The girl's sister had been taking swimming lessons through Le Saint's company since 2021, and the girl herself had babysat for Le Saint in the past.
Le Saint faces two felony counts of distributing via electronic communication material that relates or describes sexual conduct to a child. WCCO has reached out to his attorney for comment.
Le Saint, owner of Mr. Blake's Swim Academy, was named Minnesota's Aquatics Instructor of the Year in 2023.
If you know of a child who may have been a victim of exploitation, call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or visit the website.
