A 28-year-old Fertile, Minn., man has been arrested on suspicion that he had lured a 16-year-old girl on Facebook and sought sexual relations with her, according to court records.
Kerry Allison Knutson has been charged with luring minors by computer or other electronic means and with corruption of a minor, each of which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.
He made an initial appearance in state district court in Grand Forks Monday.
The alleged crime was reported by Kim Anderson, a Grand Forks County Social Services worker, who had custody of the girl.
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Anderson provided police with copies of private Facebook messages between Knutson and the girl between Nov. 29 and 30 indicating that the two had had sex together in the past and were planning to do so again, according to court records.
A search warrant for their Facebook accounts revealed that he had asked the girl for nude pictures of herself several times.
Court records say that, after Knutson was arrested, he admitted to having sex with the girl in October at her mother’s Grand Forks home. His messages indicated he knew she was younger than 18.
