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Nancy Lebens
St. Paul, Minn.

Alleged cult fugitive charged with sexual assault spotted in Washington

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Victor Barnard
The Washington State Patrol's Criminal Investigation Division has been assisting Minnesota's Pine County Sheriff's Office in attempts to locate a subject charged with 59 felony counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct involving two young females. On April 11, the Pine County Attorney's Office issued a criminal complaint against Victor Barnard. The charges result from a multi-year investigation by the Pine County Sheriff's Office into Barnard's behavior while he was ministering to a religious group in Northern Pine County.
Courtesy Washington State Patrol

A Minnesota man accused of raping teen girls was spotted in Washington State Wednesday, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Authorities are searching for 52 year-old Victor Barnard, who was charged by Minnesota prosecutors in April for child molestation when he was part of a religious group in Pine County.

The state patrol said it received a credible tip from someone who saw Barnard drive away from a McDonalds in a small town west of Olympia. The state patrol says a white female was with him at the time.

• April 2014: New details on Christian leader facing 59 charges of criminal sexual conduct