EXPLOITATION Archives - KVRR Local News

National Missing Children’s Day

President Ronald Reagan designated May 25 back in 1983 to maintain awareness about the plight of missing children in the United States.

May 25, 2025

Gabriel Ostler,

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children coordinates with law enforcement on as many cases as possible to try and bring kids home safely. While many missing children do technically fall into one category, which is “endangered runaway,” thanks to the manipulation of online child predators, the word “runaway” doesn’t necessarily imply what you think…

Filling in the Cracks of Modern Day Slavery: A Survivor’s Story and the Red Sand Project’s Solution

About 40.3 million people are human trafficking victims globally

November 21, 2018

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FARGO, N.D. –It’s a silent industry in more than 100 countries and in all 50 states, ruining lives and shattering families. In our lead story, KVRR’s Danielle Church tells us how a small group is fighting this industry, and in the process, taking on a task as big as the world itself. Trauma blocks some of the details but the…

Former Bemidji Assistant Principal Facing Federal Child Exploitation Charges

He is charged with the production and distribution of child porn and enticement of a minor

May 31, 2017

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — A former Bemidji assistant principal now faces federal child sexual exploitation charges. Brandon Bjerknes, 34, was arrested Tuesday and appeared today in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. He is charged with the production and distribution of child porn and enticement of a minor. Court documents show Bjerknes posed online as a 13 to 15-year-old male…

DAPL Protester Accused of Abuse Makes Plea

The elderly woman was taken to the hospital during a blizzard in December where staff said she was frail and malnourished

February 28, 2017

TJ Nelson,

MORTON COUNTY, N.D. — A Las Vegas woman accused of abusing her elderly mother during the pipeline protests has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say Kathleen Bennett left her 82-year-old mother, who has dementia, tied to a chair while she attended demonstrations. The elderly woman was taken to the hospital during a blizzard in December where staff said she was…