MINNESOTA/WASHINGTON
Spokesman-Review
Jenna Ross Minneapolis Star Tribune
Officers in Minnesota and Washington are chasing down dozens of leads in their search for Victor A. Barnard – a minister charged with sexually assaulting girls he called his “maidens” in an isolated religious sect near Finlayson, Minn.
Since charges were filed against Barnard, 52, the Pine County, Minn., Sheriff’s Office has been “absolutely inundated” with tips from across the country, Sheriff Robin Cole said Thursday. “It is nonstop.”
Washington officers and the U.S. Marshals Service are scouring the area around Spokane, Barnard’s last known residence, said Lt. Shane Nelson of the Washington State Patrol. They are canvassing previous residences and “contacting known associates that he’s talked to,” Nelson said. In the last few days, “we’ve acted on 20, 30 tips.”
The charismatic leader of the River Road Fellowship, Barnard faces 59 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with two girls who told investigators that they were 12 and 13 years old when the sexual abuse began.
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