A former Minot Public Schools paraprofessional has been arrested and charged with two felonies after an investigation into reports of inappropriate contact with multiple juvenile victims.

Hiroki Ito, 27, Minot, made his initial appearance in North Central District Court on Monday afternoon after being arrested on Friday. Ito has been charged with one count of corruption or solicitation of a minor under 15 within 50 feet of a school, a Class B felony, and promoting obscenity to minors, a Class C felony.

Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney Dillon Dyer told District Judge Todd Cresap there are three alleged victims in the case, with court documents indicating all three of the alleged victims were ages 14 or younger. Cresap told Ito the charges against him carried a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison for the Class B felony and $20,000 in fines, along with 15 years to lifetime registration as a sex offender should he be convicted.

Dyer requested a bond of $100,000 cash or corporate surety, saying the allegations against Ito were, “incredibly serious.” Dyer asked for a no contact order with distance provisions for all three alleged victims and that Ito be barred from possessing any device that has internet access.

Dyer said the bond amount was warranted due to Ito’s position as a paraprofessional and the impact his alleged actions would have on the Minot community, saying Ito abused a position of trust. Dyer also cited law enforcement’s concerns that Ito is a flight risk and the possibility that he could, “take drastic action if out of custody.”

Cresap questioned whether the state had evidence to support its flight risk allegations, and Dyer clarified Ito has no prior criminal record in North Dakota or in previous places of residence in Texas and Florida.

Cresap set Ito’s bond at $60,000 after Ito said he would not be able to afford the state’s requested bond amount. Cresap granted the other requested conditions, along with an order for Ito to submit a DNA sample to the Ward County Sheriff’s Office. He denied Ito’s application for a public defender, noting he received too much income from a veteran disability pension to qualify.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, the school resource officer at Central Middle School was contacted by the school’s administration on Dec. 4 regarding a school investigation being opened into Ito’s possible inappropriate contact or relationships with students at the school.

According to court documents, the parents of two alleged victims told the officer the juveniles had met Ito outside of school on multiple occasions, that he had purchased food and treats for them and had conducted “virtual sleepovers” with them over video messaging apps.

Parents also informed the officer they had observed messages from Ito allegedly making plans to purchase alcohol for them and that some of the messages were sexual in nature. According to the affidavit, Ito instructed the juveniles to change his name in their phones to another name so he would appear to be a friend and not an adult.

Ito was escorted off Central Middle School’s campus on Dec. 4 without incident and continued to attempt to contact two of the victims before he was questioned the next day by Minot Police. According to the affidavit, Ito told investigators “kids can misconstrue and manipulate the way things are said.”

According to court documents, Ito began his employment with Minot Public Schools as a paraprofessional at Central Middle School on Oct. 2. MPS Superintendent Scott Faul said Ito was placed on administrative leave when the district obtained knowledge of the concerns, and the district is conducting an investigation of its own under its own policies. Faul encouraged anyone with any information to reach out to the school administrator or Katy Dahl, the district’s TItle IX coordinator.

“The district takes complaints about personnel very seriously, always striving to maintain a safe learning and working environment,” Faul said.

Ito’s preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16.