Charged with 45 felony counts related to sexual conduct against minors in Ward County

WARD COUNTY, N.D. (KXNET) – A Powers Lake man is being held in the Ward County Jail on $1 million bond on 45 felony counts related to sexual offenses against minors in two separate cases.

In the first case, 18-year-old Julian Monson is accused of enticing a 15-year-old to perform sexual acts on him and his co-defendant Rose Wenger.

Wenger is accused of picking up the victim from her home. According to the affidavit, Monson pressured the minor and Wenger to smoke meth with him, after which photos and videos of a sexual nature between the three were found on their cell phones. Wenger is accused of recording some of these videos.

In this case, Monson is charged with seven counts: promoting obscenity to a minor, possession with intent to distribute meth, two counts of using a minor in a sexual performance, three counts of possession of certain prohibited material, sexual assault and computer enticement and corruption of a minor. Wenger is charged with four counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor and two counts of possession of certain prohibited materials.

After the incident was reported, Ward County detectives searched Monson’s phone as part of a plea agreement from his probation officer and found additional images and videos of a sexual nature with a 15-year-old on Monson’s phone.

Court documents say the 15-year-old told investigators that Monson repeatedly asked him to come to their house and they eventually agreed. They say Monson found the house using Snapchat maps and showed up. The 15-year-old and her friend got scared and hid in the bathroom. They say Monson entered the home, pushed open the closed bathroom door, grabbed the victim and dragged him into a bedroom. Victim investigators engaged in sexual activity but were unaware that Monson was filming the encounter. He had also previously told them that he was 17 years old.

In this case, Monson faces 14 counts of possession of certain prohibited material, six counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor, two counts of using a minor in a sexual performance, four counts of furtive penetration, promoting obscenity Minors and burglary, sexual assault, computer enticement and bribery of a minor.

A preliminary hearing for Monson and Wenger is scheduled for June 24.