PRINCETON (MN)
Superior Telegram [Duluth, MN]
January 6, 2026
By Maria Lockwood
The Douglas County trial is expected to take eight days.
A jury trial for a former Minnesota pastor charged with repeated sexual assault of a child at a cabin in Douglas County is set to start Tuesday, Jan. 6, in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Jeffrey Anthony Charles, 64, of Danbury, Wisconsin, faces one felony count of repeated sexual assault of a child as a persistent repeater. A cash bond of $500,000 was set at his initial hearing on May 18, 2022. Charles was in custody at the Douglas County Jail as of Monday, Jan. 5.
According to the charging documents:
Charles sexually assaulted a victim three or four times at his cabin in the town of Summit over the course of five years. At the time, the victim was between the ages of 3 and 7. Charles served as the pastor of Neighbors to Nations Church in Princeton, Minnesota, and parishioners routinely traveled to Charles’ cabin in Summit.
Charles was previously convicted of third-degree sexual abuse in Iowa in 1997.
The trial before Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Thimm is expected to take eight days, wrapping up on Jan. 15, according to online court records.
Because Charles is being charged as a persistent repeater, according to court documents, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted.