Pine City official charged with inappropriately touching minor
PINE CITY, Minn. (KMSP) - The City Planner of Pine City is behind bars after being arrested for two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and giving tobacco to a minor.
On Friday, Pine County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested 38-year-old Nathan Johnson of Pine City.
According to the criminal complaint, a 16-year-old boy told detectives he met Johnson through a mutual friend and they started messaging each other on Facebook. Investigators looked through Facebook messages starting on July 26, 2014 to June 20, 2015.
The teen told police, last April, when he was 15, Johnson paid him to clean his house in Pine City. After doing so, Johnson gave him cigarettes and tobacco. Days later, Johnson asked him to come over again to clean the house. While there, Johnson offered the teen a backrub on the couch, during which Johnson allegedly rubbed his penis against the teen’s butt. After the teen asked him to get off, Johnson touched the teen’s genitals. Johnson apologized for making him feel uncomfortable.
The teen also described an incident after he turned 16 in May 2015. He told investigators Johnson drove him to a McDonald’s in Pine City. While driving, Johnson grabbed the boy’s genitals and told him that since he was 16 that he could “touch him as much as he wants” but that he has “to stop when you say stop.”
After reviewing Facebook messages, police noted two occasions in 2014 when the teen sent Johnson shirtless photos in exchange for chewing tobacco.
Isanti County will be handling the prosecution of the case, so there is not a conflict of interest.
Johnson is in custody at Pine County Jail, awaiting a first appearance. Bail has not yet been set.