Imprisoned Plymouth sexual predator sentenced to another 17 years for statutory rape

Victims of a convicted sexual predator from Plymouth say that a sisterhood was formed among them that will carry on while he's behind bars for an even greater length of time than the decade he was already serving, after a sentence on Thursday to 17 years in prison.

Bjorn Bolton Iverson, 39, received the second sentence, for third-degree criminal sexual conduct, in Hennepin County District Court nearly two years after his first case came to a close. Iverson appeared in orange prison garb and spoke for the first time since sexual assault accusations surfaced in 2019, saying he's innocent of the charges in connection to victim Makilah Kaitchuck.

Kaitchuck was 15 when Iverson, then 33, messaged her on Facebook. He recorded their sexual acts, to which prosecutors say she was too young to consent. He was charged with third-degree sexual misconduct and two counts of child pornography.

"I was scared, so I obeyed," said Kaitchuck, who is now 22. "It took me years to realize he was the adult; I was the child."

A jury found Iverson guilty on all three charges in December. The case played out differently from his last one, when he faced a dozen felony charges of possession of child pornography and sexual assault of least eight women between 2012 and 2019. All assault charges were dropped in a plea deal Iverson entered in 2021, but he received a 10-year sentence for possessing explicit images of a 17-year-old.

Iverson, a self-professed DJ, would lure girls with drugs and alcohol, charges say, sometimes under the guise of working in the music and modeling industry.

His accusers, which also include 33-year-old Karen Juchemich, were disappointed in conditions of that plea, but said Thursday's' sentencing brings added legal closure that more closely resembles justice. The Star Tribune generally does not name sexual assault victims, but Kaitchuck and Juchemich consented to be identified.

"The worst moment of her life is captured on a video that can exist forever," Quam said as Kaitchuck burst into tears while seated next to her sister and stepmother.

Quam said the videos are haunting, and even if Iverson thought the sex was consensual, that Kaitchuck's age at the time made it a serious crime that causes lasting harm.

Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Jason Heaser said as bad as the videos were for the jury in the courtroom to view, "Ms. Kaitchuck had to endure them."

"As he said in one of the clips we witnessed in this trial: 'This was not for her. This was for him.'"

Iverson's attorney, Madsen Marcellus, said his client never disseminated the videos. He argued that this case should've been included in the previous plea agreement because prosecutors were aware of Kaitchuck back then.

Iverson spoke for more than 20 minutes about being what he called a "model inmate," remaining discipline-free and serving as a tutor for other inmates wanting to get their high school diploma. He's enrolled in college and working to implement more inmate programming.

He said he had been a self-trained web developer and graphic designer.

In her victim impact statement, Kaitchuck described grooming and manipulation, how they first had sex a few days before her 16th birthday, on which he offered to take her out to Dave and Buster's to celebrate.

"I vividly remember him asking, 'Do I even want to know how old you are?' I had said 16. 'Oh, that's not that bad,' he had said in almost a proud tone," she said.

On six instances in 2017 he recorded the sexual misconduct after he convinced her, Kaitchuck said.

Juchemich was one of the eight accusers from Iverson's initial case that was dismissed. She said in her victim impact statement that she and Iverson grew up together and that she suspects she was the first girl he groomed.

Juchemich said Iverson sexually assaulted her at a party he hosted more than a decade ago. She thought she was the only one. But then she saw stories of other women on Facebook.

After the sentencing, Juchemich and Kaitchuck exchanged hugs with the prosecutor and victim advocate. They said they felt validated that a jury of Iverson's peers found him guilty.