{"id":27655,"date":"2026-05-01T05:45:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=27655"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T10:45:12","slug":"mahnomen-man-charged-in-casino-sex-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/mahnomen-man-charged-in-casino-sex-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahnomen: Man Charged In Casino Sex Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mahnomen County<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A California man is facing a felony charge in Mahnomen County District Court.<\/p>\n

Christian Daniel Sturba, 47, of North Hollywood, California, is charged with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.<\/p>\n

The charge was filed in Minnesota\u2019s Ninth Judicial District. The court file number is 44-CR-26-157.<\/p>\n

The charge stems from a reported incident on May 24, 2025. It allegedly happened at Shooting Star Casino<\/a> in Mahnomen.<\/p>\n

Under Minnesota Statute 609.3451<\/a>, the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. It may also carry a $10,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

Complaint Details Alleged Encounter<\/h2>\n

According to the complaint, a 19-year-old woman reported a nonconsensual sexual encounter at the casino hotel.<\/p>\n

The woman told investigators she was at the casino with her boyfriend and his mother.<\/p>\n

She said she later went to play more games. She then went to the hotel\u2019s second floor.<\/p>\n

The complaint says two men connected to a band spoke with her in the hallway.<\/p>\n

The woman reported that she felt scared and went with them to a hotel room.<\/p>\n

One man later left the room, according to the complaint. Sturba allegedly remained with her.<\/p>\n

The woman told investigators Sturba tried to have sex with her. She said she told him she wanted to leave.<\/p>\n

She also said she asked to use the bathroom. The complaint says she later asked Candice Lane Nelson for help.<\/p>\n

Surveillance Video Reviewed<\/h2>\n

Investigators reviewed casino surveillance video, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The video allegedly showed the woman and two men meeting in a hotel hallway.<\/p>\n

It also showed the woman entering a room, then later leaving with the suspect.<\/p>\n

The complaint says the two later entered an elevator. The suspect allegedly tried to kiss her.<\/p>\n

The woman turned away, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

She then entered a women\u2019s bathroom. Nelson also entered the bathroom.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Nelson spoke to the suspect. He then entered the men\u2019s bathroom.<\/p>\n

Nelson and the woman later went to the security desk.<\/p>\n

Defendant Denied Force<\/h2>\n

Investigators later spoke with Sturba at the hotel.<\/p>\n

Sturba said he was in town because he played in a Guns N\u2019 Roses tribute band.<\/p>\n

He told investigators the encounter was flirtatious. He denied using force.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Sturba said the two kissed and removed clothing.<\/p>\n

He also admitted oral sex occurred, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Sturba declined to provide a voluntary DNA sample.<\/p>\n

Investigators said evidence from a medical exam was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.<\/p>\n

Public court records can be searched through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A criminal complaint is not a conviction. Sturba is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Mahnomen:
Mahnomen: Man Charged In Casino Sex Case<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mahnomen County (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A California man is facing a felony charge in Mahnomen County District Court. Christian Daniel Sturba, 47, of North Hollywood, California, is charged with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. The charge was filed in Minnesota\u2019s Ninth Judicial District. The court file number is 44-CR-26-157. The charge stems from a reported incident on… Continue reading Mahnomen: Man Charged In Casino Sex Case<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[17068,17069,3116,5231,16828,786],"class_list":["post-27655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-christian-daniel-sturba","tag-felony-sex-charge","tag-mahnomen-county","tag-minnesota-court-complaint","tag-shooting-star-casino","tag-trf-news","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27658,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27655\/revisions\/27658"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}