A Powers Lake man charged with 55 felonies and six misdemeanors in three separate cases involving offenses against minors entered a change of plea to a number of the charges in North Central District Court on Wednesday.

Julian Raymond Monson, 19, Powers Lake, appeared before Judge Douglas Mattson in Minot on Wednesday, to formally enter his change of plea in the three cases after entering into a plea agreement with the Ward County State’s Attorney.

Monson was arrested in May in two of the cases after an investigation by the Ward County Sheriff’s Office into reports from two juvenile female victims for engaging in sexual communications with them. Monson was later charged in the third case after investigators unearthed evidence on his cell phone involving a third juvenile female victim.

Deputy Ward County State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen reviewed the plea agreement reached by the parties across the three cases during the hearing, which resulted in all but 11 of the felony and five of the misdemeanor counts to be dismissed.

Mattson clarified with Sorgen that the proposed plea agreement had been discussed with all three victims and their parents or guardians, and Sorgen confirmed those conversations had occurred either with victim coordinators or herself personally.

Monson confirmed his intentions and pleaded guilty to the agreed charges, and Mattson ordered a presentence investigation.

Sorgen presented the prosecution’s recommended sentences to the court, which was led by a sentence of 20 years with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for one count of use of a minor in a sexual performance, a Class A felony. Monson would be required to serve 15 years with five years suspended following three years of supervised probation.

Other conditions included Monson registering as a sex offender, as well as a no-contact order with the victims in each case and a distance provision. Monson’s cell phone would also be forfeited to law enforcement for destruction. Monson would also be assessed $2,075 in court costs and fees for all three cases.

This sentence would run concurrently with identical sentences of 20 years with five years suspended for two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor, a Class B felony. Sorgen proposed Monson serve five years for one count of surreptitious intrusion involving a minor victim, a Class C felony, which would be followed by five years of supervised probation to be completed consecutively with the three years of probation from the prior counts.

Sorgen proposed a concurrent sentences of five years for six counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, along with one count of promoting obscenity to minors, all Class C felonies; and sentences of 360 days for two counts of corruption of a minor and three counts of luring a minor by a computer, all Class A misdemeanors.

Mattson requested a copy of the summary of the communications between Sorgen and Monson’s court-appointed attorney Tyler Morrow regarding the plea agreement, and scheduled Monson’s sentencing for Friday, April 25, 2025, at 11 a.m.