A middle school assistant principal in Bemidji posed online as a 13-year-old boy to lure students for sex, police said Friday.
Brandon Bjerkness, 34, was arraigned Friday on charges of soliciting children to engage in sexual conduct, Beltrami County Sheriff's officials said.
Bjerkness was contacting children through Facebook, Snapchat and e-mail accounts he set up using the name "Brett Larson," Sheriff Phil Hodapp said in a news release. Brett Larson was purportedly a 13-year-old attending Morgan Park School in Duluth, Hodapp said. The school has been closed for several years.
The sheriff's office is asking parents to talk with their children to determine if they've had any contact with a Brett Larson through their social media accounts. If so, they're asked to call 218-333-9111 and ask to speak to an investigator.
The Bemidji School District is assisting police in the investigation, Hodapp said.
Bjerkness was appointed as an assistant principal in 2014 after serving as the middle school dean of students, according to an announcement printed in the alumni magazine of Bemidji State University, which said Bjerkness graduated in 2005.
John Reinan
