A former Iowa City church youth leader and North Liberty private school teacher inappropriately touched multiple children over the course of several years, police say.

Between 2006 and 2013, Benjamin C. Tweedt, 32, of North Liberty, fondled or had inappropriate sexual interactions with at least four children between the ages of 11 and 13, police say. He was arrested Wednesday. Among the charges he faces are one count of third-degree sexual abuse and two counts of lascivious acts with a child - fondle or touch, which are both class C felonies.

Tweedt was a youth leader and mentor at Parkview Church in Iowa City since 2004, according to his LinkedIn page. The church, which reported the allegations to police in February, says Tweedt was a volunteer but was never an employee.

"In early February we were made aware of incidents that occurred involving a volunteer in the junior high ministries prior to 2012 and immediately contacted local authorities," the church said in a statement.

Tweedt also taught at Heritage Christian School in North Liberty from 2009 to 2013, according to that school's administrator.

In his role at the church, Tweedt had multiple one-on-one visits with children, during which time most of the abuse occurred, according to police. When Parkview found out about the allegations of abuse, Tweedt was immediately removed from further student ministry participation, police said.

North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said the abuse happened in homes and church retreat locations in North Liberty and Coralville.

Tweedt did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

On multiple occasions, Tweedt would play a game where he used his finger to touch victims, starting at their upper body and continuing down to the child's waistband, according to police complaints. Sometimes Tweedt would touch the child over their clothes, and on other occasions he would put his hand under the child's waistband and shirt, police said.

During one visit, police say Tweedt laid down on a couch and cuddled with a boy, who said he could feel Tweedt's erect penis pushed against his backside.

During a 2013 church retreat, Tweedt was alone in a sleeping area with a victim and got into the victim's twin bed, the complaints state. Tweedt spooned the victim and placed his arm around the child, police said.

In a one-on-one visit with a victim in 2006, Tweedt asked the child if he knew the length of Tweedt's penis, police said. Tweedt then told the child to go into the bathroom with a ruler, get his penis erect and measure it. Afterward, Tweedt went in the bathroom and did the same thing to himself, the complaints said.

Tweedt did the same thing with another victim in 2010, police said, and Tweedt had that boy show him his erect penis through his clothes by pulling his pants tight around his crotch.

Tweedt massaged the same boy's buttocks over his clothes on another occasion in 2010, police said. That encounter happened during a one-on-one meeting with Tweedt and the boy had his shirt off at the time, according to the complaints.

Venenga said it's possible that other instances of abuse exist, but she said Parkview staff were very forthcoming with their congregation about what had occurred and encouraged them to contact law enforcement if they knew of any inappropriate contacts.

All of the victims and witnesses interviewed by police had a connection to Parkview Church, Venenga said.

"Our desire is to see truth exposed, justice executed and compassion expressed to those who have been impacted," the church said.

Mike Annis, administrator at Heritage Christian School in North Liberty, said Tweedt was asked to resign in 2013 after the school became aware of conduct at a summer camp not affiliated with Heritage.

Tweedt's behavior "did not meet the expectations that we hold for our employees," Annis said. He declined to provide specifics, but said he has no evidence that Heritage students had inappropriate contact with Tweedt.

"All evidence that we had available to us — back in 2013 and presently available to us — shows no connection to the school or students, either present or former students at Heritage," Annis said.

Annis did not respond to additional messages requesting clarification.

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners website shows Tweedt has a standard teaching license that expires Sept. 30. He is qualified to teach grades 5-12 in American history, world history and psychology.

Tweedt's LinkedIn page shows he received a bachelor's degree for history teacher education from the University of Iowa in 2007.

From 2006 to 2008, Tweedt was a counselor at Loras College All-Sports Camp in Dubuque, camp director Tom Kult said.

As a counselor, Tweedt was responsible for around eight to 12 kids between the ages of 7 and 14, Kult said.

"Basically he was Dad for the week for them," Kult said.

Kult, who was not the camp's director when Tweedt was a counselor there, said he was unaware of any abuse allegations related to Tweedt. Counselors and camp staff are required to report sexual abuse, he said.

Kult said he believed Tweedt also worked at other camps but did not know which ones.

Tweedt is also the author of a series of young adult books featuring a teenage boy named Greyson Gray who fights terrorists.

In addition to the felony charges, Tweedt is charged with three counts of indecent contact with a child, an aggravated misdemeanor; and two counts of lascivious conduct with a minor, a serious misdemeanor.

If convicted on all counts, Tweedt could face up to 38 years in prison. He was booked into the Johnson County Jail on Wednesday and posted a $3,800 cash bond and was discharged Thursday morning, online court records show.

The North Liberty Police Department was assisted by the Coralville Police Department and Johnson County Attorney's Office in the investigation.

Reach Stephen Gruber-Miller at 319-887-5407 or sgrubermil@press-citizen.com. Follow him on Twitter: @sgrubermiller.