Baron jailed on new child pornography charges

Ryan Baron, former superintendent and high school principal of the Midkota School District, is facing even more charges for possession of child pornography and for allegedly directing a 12-year-old to send explicit photos.

Back in November of last year, Baron was initially arrested and charged with five felony counts of "possession of certain materials prohibited," which came after a cyber tip was received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

That tip led to the discovery of five videos allegedly in Baron's possession, which depict sexual acts with children as young as seven years old.

Baron waived his preliminary hearing for the charges, and has submitted not guilty pleas to each one. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled in that case for March 19.

But now, Baron faces an entirely new slate of charges related to child pornography, the most serious of which is a Class A felony charge of "Promoting or directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor."

Court documents allege that Baron, in February of 2023, was conversing with a 12-year-old girl via Snapchat, and directed her to send inappropriate photos.

"In this conversation the defendant ... requested that the female remove her clothes and take photos of herself to send to the defendant for his sexual gratification," alleges court documents.

At a bond hearing for Baron on Tuesday, Feb. 20, Griggs County State's Attorney Jayme Tenneson informed District Court Judge James Hovey that the alleged victim was a student at Midkota.

Tenneson also said Baron was using a fake Snapchat account, and presented himself to the student as an entirely different person – otherwise known as "catfishing." This fake account was active as recently as January 18, said Tenneson – nearly two months after Baron's first arrest for child pornography took place.

"I think this breaks every trust that a parent would have of an administrator in a school," said Tenneson. "... I'm concerned that [Baron's] going to continue doing this and continue harming more young ladies from around our area or other areas if we don't have a steep bond over him and a prohibition of using electronic devices and internet usage."

Meanwhile, also among Baron's new charges are seven more counts for possession of certain materials prohibited, each a Class C felony.

As in the first case, each charge correlates with a video of child pornography allegedly found in Baron's possession. Court documents go into explicit detail depicting what's in the videos, several of which reportedly show young children bound by rope.

At the bond hearing Tuesday morning, Judge Hovey set Baron's bail at $50,000 cash or surety. He soon posted bail and had been released from the Barnes County Correctional Facility as of Thursday, Feb. 22.

The bail conditions ordered by Hovey state that Baron must not make contact with the alleged 12-year-old victim or access the internet. He is only allowed to communicate electronically if it’s between himself and his lawyer.

Baron’s next court appearance will be a preliminary hearing, which has been scheduled for March 19 at 1 p.m. in the Griggs County Courthouse.

Baron is considered innocent unless proven guilty.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on Friday, Feb. 23 to reflect that Baron posted bond and his preliminary hearing date had been scheduled.