Man charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct

A 35-year-old Willow River man has been charged in Carlton County District Court with two felony counts for criminal sexual conduct. According to the Carlton County sheriff's office, Francis Lenard Marsh was under investigation in early March for engaging in penetrative oral sex with a girl who was under age 13. Police said a juvenile relative of the girl learned of the conduct and reported it to adults who contacted police.

Marsh was taken into custody April 1 and is expected to make a second appearance in district court Monday, April 8.

According to the sheriff's office, the alleged victim told a relative about a sexual incident at a residence in Kettle River. Subsequent interviews with the girl by the First Witness Child Advocacy Center in Duluth revealed that such encounters took place many times and at multiple locations.

Each first-degree felony count has a 30-year maximum jail sentence.

According to criminal records, Marsh was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct in 2008 in Sherburne County.