Former Bloomington Resident, Church Employee Charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct

Sun Current
September 22, 2016

http://current.mnsun.com/2016/09/22/former-church-employee-charged-with-criminal-sexual-conduct/

A 23-year-old North Dakota man has been charged with one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor he met through a church retreat.

Mitchell G. Bolkcom was living in Bloomington and working at St. Michael Catholic Church in Prior Lake when he met the victim, a 16-year-old Burnsville girl, in late 2015, according to a complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court.

Bolkcom and the girl met at an unspecified church retreat in late 2015 and exchanged phone numbers, according to the complaint. Bolkcom, who was working as the director of middle school and adult faith formation at St. Michael, according to his online resume, began meeting in January to discuss the girl’s depression. They originally met at coffee shops, but then began meeting at his Bloomington apartment. During their meetings at his apartment they engaged in a variety of physical activities, which included intercourse and oral sex, the complaint noted.

When Bolkcom and the girl met for a fourth time, she had expressed concern about meeting at his apartment again, and he responded by saying he was leaving for a new job in Florida and only had seven years to live due to a heart condition, according to the complaint. During the fourth meeting at his apartment, they had consensual intercourse at his apartment, the complaint noted.

The girl said that the relationship occurred between January and May, and the relationship was reported to the Bloomington Police Department earlier this month, prompting the investigation. The girl had told her priest about the relationship, and he reported the information to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which called the police, according to Bloomington Police Cmdr. Kim Clauson.

The girl was not a member of St. Michael Catholic Church when the alleged relationship with Bolkcom occurred, according to a statement from Fr. Tom Walker of St. Michael Catholic Church. Bolkcom had been working as a missionary for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks when the investigation began, Walker noted.

Bolkcom participated in an out-of-custody interview and was read his rights. During questioning, he said that he had been counseling the girl and engaged in sexual conduct with her, the complaint noted.

Bolkcom was charged Sept. 16. If convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

He posted bond and was released from custody. He is scheduled to appear in court in October, Clauson said.