Federal child sex exploitation case filed against former ND school superintendent, 2nd suspect

FARGO — The man who was serving as a school superintendent in North Dakota when he was first charged with possessing child sexual abuse materials last November now faces several child sexual exploitation charges in federal court.

Ryan Baron, the former principal and superintendent in the Midkota School District, was federally indicted June 6, the same day a judge in Griggs County scheduled his trial in the state case for mid-September. The case was unsealed June 12.

It’s unclear if the state case against Baron will continue to go forward in light of the higher court’s charges.

Baron’s co-conspirator in the federal case, Aaron Doss, 27, of Fargo, had a related state case pending in Cass County, but it was dismissed in light of the federal indictment.

Baron and Doss are both charged in U.S. District Court with several counts, including one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. The indictment said the two men used the internet to “knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce,” a girl under 18, “to engage in sexual activity.”

The suit also charges Baron, 41, with six other related counts, including attempted sexual exploitation of a child, receiving, possessing and distributing images depicting the sexual exploitation of children.

One of the counts claimed Baron’s criminal activity occurred between January 2014 and January 2016, a time period far earlier than those alleged in the state court documents.

According to Baron’s LinkedIn profile, he was working as a math teacher at a school in his hometown of Browerville, Minnesota from August 2015-June 2016.

Two federal counts against Baron alleged his crimes continued into January 2024, at least two months after investigators found

he had five different videos

in his Google Drive account containing explicit sexual content involving men and young girls.

At a February hearing in the state case against Baron

, the Griggs County State’s Attorney said a Midkota student was one of the victims in the case.

The Midkota School District serves the small communities of Binford, Glenfield, McHenry, Grace City, and Sutton in Griggs and Foster counties in north central North Dakota, between Jamestown and Devils Lake. District officials said Baron’s employment ended in December 2023. The state board

suspended his license

in March.

A trial has been scheduled in federal court for Aug. 6. It is set to last four days.