By Bill Hanna
VirginiaMN.com
GRAND RAPIDS — A Tower man who was a corrections officer at the Thistledew facility in Togo has been charged with seven counts of felony sexual misconduct with a female inmate over a period of time.
James Allen Bongaarts, 56, made his initial court appearance Monday in Itasca County District Court in Grand Rapids on the charges that were filed last Friday. Bail was set at $50,000 without conditions or $25,000 with conditions that include not going near Thistledew. Bongaarts had been a correctional officer at the facility for about two years.
The charges are two counts of sexual conduct in the third degree, four counts of attempted criminal sexual conduct in the third degree and one count of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree.
Full story: Thistledew officer charged