Benjamin Berg

A Minot man made his initial appearance on Monday in North Central District Court for a single count of luring minors by electronic communication, a Class C felony.

Benjamin Lawrence Berg, 35, Minot, a former Minot City council member and former Minot Public Schools employee, was arrested on Friday for communication allegedly exchanged with a minor on a social media app in August. Berg made his initial appearance Monday before Judge Richard Hagar.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, a Minot police officer with the investigation’s division spoke Aug. 30 with the alleged victim, who reported a random account using the handle Sam Rudolph had added him on the app and began chatting with him. The account was later determined to be operated by Berg, according to the affidavit.

The alleged victim said the conversation quickly turned sexual in nature, and he decided he would go along with the conversation so he could catch the person trying to lure him. The juvenile said Berg initially invited him to his residence. He agreed to meet at a Minot park on Aug. 13.

The alleged victim had four other juveniles go with him to the park so he would not be alone when meeting Berg. The juvenile said he observed Berg circling the area, and that Berg said he was making sure law enforcement weren’t present. The alleged victim spoke with Berg at the window of the vehicle he was driving, and Berg left the area quickly after telling him he would meet him behind the bathrooms for more privacy.

The juveniles obtained the vehicle license plate number, which was solely registered to Berg, according to the affidavit. A video provided to investigators showed a brief view of the driver, which appeared to match the description of Berg.

A search warrant obtained for the Sam Rudolph account showed it was being accessed in the area of the park where the meeting occurred and, prior to that, at Berg’s residence. Photographs of the alleged victim were located in the saved images on the social media account.