Barnum man accused of child sex abuse

A Barnum man faces charges of allegedly raping a young girl who had previously looked up to him as a father figure.

Chad Arnold Connor, 47, was arraigned in Sixth District Court-Carlton County on Feb. 9 on two charges of felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13.

According to the criminal complaint, Connor is 33 years older than his alleged victim. Now a teenager, the girl told her mother and police in December that Connor had raped her starting when she was about 6 years old and would spend time at his trailer house in Barnum. The alleged sexual abuse occurred over a three-year period.

The victim said Connor would “backhand” her across the face if she did not do what he wanted her to do and once hit her head against a wall. She also alleged that he told her that he would kill her if she told anyone. She did not tell anyone for years, until December 2022, when she told her mother and they reported it to the police.

Police also interviewed Connor, who confirmed a previous relationship with the victim’s mother and that he continued to have contact with the girl after they split up. According to the criminal complaint, he told police, “the biggest thing she ever did was sit on my lap and kiss me on the lips.” His contact with the young girl ended after a dispute with her mother in 2017.

In response to the Pine Knot News, Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola said the statute of limitations on criminal sexual conduct charges in this case would have been nine years from date of offense or three years from the date of it being reported, whichever is later. She noted there is no statute of limitations on first- through fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct committed after September 2021, when the state law was changed.

Connor was released from the Carlton County jail without posting bail on the condition that he avoid all contact with the alleged victim and her family. While he awaits an April 19 omnibus hearing he is also not allowed to have any unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.

If convicted, the maximum sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct is 30 years and/or a $40,000 fine.