05/09/2026
Former Michigan Lutheran Seminary teacher sent to prison for having S. with a student.
Saginaw, MI - Friends Community News Group, May 8, 2026, 2:30 p.m. ET - A former Michigan Lutheran Seminary teacher who once held a trusted place inside one of Saginawβs private Christian school communities is headed to prison after admitting he had a s*xual relationship with a student.
Carl Boeder, 31, was sentenced Thursday in Saginaw County Circuit Court to 5 to 20 years in prison, with credit for 143 days already served, after pleading guilty to charges tied to illegally having a having a s*xual relationship with a Michigan Lutheran Seminary student who was of the age of consent.
The age of consent for s*xual activity in Michigan is 16. However, the age is increased to 18 if the older participant is a βa teacher, substitute teacher, administrator, employee, or contractual service providerβ of the school or district the younger participant attends.
The case drew emotional victim-impact statements from the girl and her family, including sharply different words from the student and her mother.
The teen told the judge she felt guilt over Boederβs fate and hoped one day to speak with him again, according to courtroom reporting from the sentencing.
The way the girl and Boeder relationship was found out was the girls father found electronic messaging and photos of the pair and then contacted police.
Her mother was far less forgiving in her impact statement, stating, βCarl Boeder used his roles as teacher and trusted church leader at his private Lutheran school to groom my daughter,β she said. βHe manipulated her through his role as educator, posed as a friend to our family, undermined his school, and betrayed his calling.β
The sentencing brought an end to a case that had shaken Michigan Lutheran Seminary, a private Lutheran high school in Saginaw, where Boeder had worked before resigning in August.
The criminal case became public in December, when authorities said Boeder, who had formerly lived in Saginaw and later lived in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was accused of s*xually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. Investigators said Boeder established a s*xual relationship with the girl during the summer and used his cellphone to communicate with her inappropriately.
Boeder was arraigned Dec. 16 in Saginaw County on multiple charges. Those charges included third-degree criminal s*xual conduct, child s*xually abusive activity, possession and distribution of child s*xually abusive material, two counts of fourth-degree criminal s*xual conduct and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime, according to reporting at the time. His bond was set at $1 million.
The case later moved from accusation to conviction. Boeder pleaded guilty March 26 to seven felonies and two high-court misdemeanors, including criminal s*xual conduct with a student. He was held without bond while awaiting sentencing.
The most serious charge carried up to 15 years in prison, and Boeder faced a minimum of five years behind bars.
For the victimβs family, Thursdayβs sentencing was about more than a prison term. Her mother described the crime as a betrayal of a school, a family and a religious community that had trusted Boeder around children.
The case cut deeply because Boeder was not a stranger accused of preying on a student from the outside. He was a teacher, a school figure and, according to the victimβs mother, someone who had presented himself as a friend to the family while using his position to manipulate her daughter.
Boeder will now serve his sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
By: Tom Manke
Photo: Michigan S*x Offender List of Carl Boeder.
