Teen testifies ex-Birch Run teacher sent her explicit messages, videos, photo via Snapchat

SAGINAW, MI — From the witness stand, a teenage girl read aloud explicit messages she received on Snapchat, detailing in graphic detail how the sender wanted to have sex with her. The lewd message, and others like it, were allegedly sent by the teen’s former teacher at Birch Run High School.The teen was a few sentences into the lengthy text before the presiding judge cut her off, saying it wasn’t necessary for her to read the whole thing. Sitting across the courtroom from her was the educator she claimed sent the messages, 27-year-old Alex J. Helm. He is charged with two counts each of distributing sexually explicit material to minors and using a computer to commit a crime. The charges are two- and four-year felonies, respectively.The 17-year-old girl testified during Helm’s preliminary examination, held Wednesday, April 16, before Saginaw County District Judge Terry L. Clark. She recalled first meeting Helm at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, when he was a long-term substitute teacher of her zoology class at the high school. He also worked for the school district as a football and basketball coach.Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Brook Kozlowski asked the teen what their relationship was like.“It was
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