{"id":73169,"date":"2026-11-13T02:49:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=73169"},"modified":"2026-11-13T02:49:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:49:12","slug":"bemidji-man-charged-in-2018-child-sex-abuse-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-charged-in-2018-child-sex-abuse-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Charged in 2018 Child Sex Abuse Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEMIDJI, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A 22-year-old Bemidji man faces two felony criminal sexual conduct charges involving a child under 13.<\/p>\n

Jestin Ray Lord was charged in Beltrami County District Court following an investigation into alleged abuse dating back to December 2018.<\/p>\n

The investigation resumed in 2026 after a child’s therapist reported allegations to Beltrami County Social Services.<\/p>\n

Two Serious Felony Charges Filed<\/h2>\n

According to the criminal complaint, Lord faces first-degree and second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges.<\/p>\n

The first-degree charge alleges prohibited sexual conduct involving a child under 13.<\/p>\n

The second-degree charge alleges sexual contact with a child under 13.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Lord was more than 36 months older than the child when the alleged incident occurred.<\/p>\n

The complaint identifies December 1 through December 31, 2018, as the alleged offense period.<\/p>\n

A first-degree conviction carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison or a $40,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

A second-degree conviction carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison or a $35,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

Therapist’s Report Leads to New Investigation<\/h2>\n

The investigation began after Beltrami County Social Services received a report from the child’s therapist on March 26, 2026.<\/p>\n

The therapist reported that the child had disclosed an alleged sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Bemidji police reviewed the allegations and discovered an earlier report dated May 6, 2019.<\/p>\n

That report involved the same allegation, but the reporting parties did not wish to pursue criminal charges at that time.<\/p>\n

Investigators later contacted the child’s parent, who confirmed the child wanted to provide a statement.<\/p>\n

On April 16, 2026, the child participated in an interview at the Family Advocacy Center of Northern Minnesota.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, the child described alleged abuse at a Beltrami County residence while younger than 10.<\/p>\n

Detectives Interview Several People<\/h2>\n

Between late May and July, investigators interviewed several people familiar with the allegations.<\/p>\n

Some witnesses said they had not personally observed misconduct.<\/p>\n

Instead, they said their information came from the child or other individuals.<\/p>\n

\"Jestin<\/a>
Jestin Ray Lord<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suspect Denies Allegations During Interview<\/h2>\n

Two Bemidji detectives visited Lord’s residence on August 6, 2026.<\/p>\n

Investigators informed Lord he was not under arrest and was not required to answer questions.<\/p>\n

Lord agreed to speak with detectives.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Lord strongly denied committing the alleged acts.<\/p>\n

He told investigators he could not remember every detail because several years had passed.<\/p>\n

Lord also described an occasion when the child climbed on him while they were playing.<\/p>\n

He said the interaction made him uncomfortable and denied any inappropriate touching.<\/p>\n

Case Filed After Lord Became an Adult<\/h2>\n

Lord was a minor when the alleged incident occurred in 2018.<\/p>\n

However, prosecutors filed the case after his 21st birthday and before the applicable legal deadline, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The criminal history section also lists a separate misdemeanor indecent exposure conviction from December 2025.<\/p>\n

That conviction is separate from the current felony allegations.<\/p>\n

Case Moves Through Beltrami County Court<\/h2>\n

The charges remain allegations unless proven in court.<\/p>\n

Lord is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

Information about Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct laws is available under Minnesota Statute 609.342<\/a> and Minnesota Statute 609.343<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Readers can search public case information through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jestin Ray Lord, 22, faces two felony criminal sexual conduct charges in Beltrami County after a child’s disclosure revived a 2018 allegation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73221,"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":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1212,1224,32221,23386],"trf_mt_town":[29430],"trf_mt_county":[29512],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-73169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county","tag-bemidji","tag-jestin-ray-lord","tag-sexual-assault"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73169","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=73169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73227,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73169\/revisions\/73227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73169"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=73169"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=73169"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=73169"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=73169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}