Charges: St. Paul man performed sex act in front of girl, 10, at city library

Nicholas Barghini
Nicholas Barghini
Ramsey County Attorney's Office

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged a St. Paul man with criminal sexual conduct for his actions over the weekend at a city library.

Nicholas Barghini is charged with exposing himself and performing a sex act in the presence of a 10-year-old girl.

The girl came to the Riverview Library in response to an ad about an acting class, according to the criminal complaint. The girl's mother dropped her off and told investigators she saw other parents leaving their daughters for the same meeting.

When the mother picked her up, the girl told her that Barghini did "weird stuff" to her.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

After speaking to Barghini, the girl's mother went back to the library and demanded to see surveillance footage of the class. The footage showed that Barghini and the girl were alone in the community room after he had ushered other girls outside.

Police arrested Barghini at his home. In his wallet, police found a piece of paper on which he wrote he wanted to start a cult and a list of "sex goals" including with preteens.

The complaint says Barghini also engaged in sexual misconduct at the library in June.

He is in police custody. Prosecutors will ask the court to ban him from county libraries and prohibit him from contact with any child under the age of 16.

Barghini is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Correction (Aug. 1, 2017): The name of the library was incorrect in a previous version of this story.