MINNESOTA
Fox News
Associated Press
PINE CITY, Minn. – A judge set bail at $1.5 million Monday for a religious sect leader who’s charged with sexually abusing girls at a secluded compound in rural Minnesota.
Victor Barnard, 54, made his first state court appearance since his extradition from Brazil. U.S. marshals delivered him to the Pine County Jail on Saturday.
Pine County prosecutors charged Barnard in April 2014 with 59 counts of criminal sexual conduct for allegedly having sexual relationships with two girls in his “Maidens Group” at his River Road Fellowship compound near Finlayson, about 90 miles north of Minneapolis.
The U.S. Marshals Service put him on its most wanted fugitives list, and authorities finally caught up with him in a Brazilian resort town in February 2015. Brazilian authorities said he had arrived in Brazil in March 2012.
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