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On November 28, 2023, Midkota Public Schools superintendent Ryan Baron was apprehended in Hannaford by deputies from the Griggs and Foster County Sheriff's Offices and agents with the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.
Disclaimer: This contains mentions of s*xual crime involving minors.
The 40-year-old principal at Midkota Public School in Binford, North Dakota, was arrested for the alleged possession of multiple videos of child p*rnography.
Following his arrest, Ryan Baron was taken to the Barnes County Jail.
Midkota superintendent is facing five felony charges
InForum reported that on November 29, 2023, Ryan Baron made his initial court appearance in Griggs County via Zoom.
KVRR reported that Southeast District Court Judge James Hovey set a bond of $5,000 and issued an order to stay at least 300 feet away from the school.
According to the report by InForum, after he made bail, Ryan was removed from the Barnes County Jail roster.
The report by KVRR stated that investigators followed a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which led to five felony charges against Ryan Baron.
InForum reported that, as per court documents, on October 18, 2023, Ryan Baron was found to be in possession of five separate videos in his Google Drive account, which included explicit s*xual content involving men and underage females. The girls in the videos are believed to be between the ages of 7 to 13.
Ryan Baron became the superintendent in the summer of 2022. The Public School District includes the communities of Binford, Glenfield, Grace City, McHenry, and Sutton, North Dakota.
According to the report by InForum, Midkota Public School informed that Ryan Baron had been placed on leave and that no school premises were implicated in illegal activity.
Valley News Live reported that a statement from the Midkota School Board President read,
“Midkota Public School was given notice yesterday, Tuesday, November 28, of allegations made against superintendent, Ryan Baron. The school has already and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement in any way possible in order to bring about swift resolution in this matter. Mr. Baron has been placed on leave at this time and will not be present on school property. As this is an active investigation, Midkota will be unable to comment beyond this statement at this time.”
Ryan Baron has been in trouble with the law in the past
KVRR reported that in 2021, Ryan Baron, who was the superintendent of the Ulen-Hitterdal School District, was apprehended for trespassing at Tri-County School in Karlstad, Minnesota.
According to the report by KVRR, Ryan pleaded guilty and had to pay a penalty of $140.
KFGO reported that Ryan Baron's next court appearance is slated for December 26, 2023.
According to the report by InForum, with respect to his current arrest, if convicted, Ryan Baron can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and/or receive a $10,000 penalty on each charge.
