A Nashwauk man has been found guilty of one count of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and four counts of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree in Itasca County. Bryan Morgan Holl, 36, was charged in 2017 for allegedly sexually abusing a female under the age of 13 multiple times. The crimes that took place from 2012 to 2014.

According to a criminal complaint, the victim first reported to a social worker in Decatur, IL in January 2017, that she had been sexually abused by her mother’s live-in boyfriend, Holl, while the victim lived with her mother in Nashwauk.

The victim reported the first incident happened when she was 9 to 10 years old. Holl got into her bed and sexually assaulted her. The victim also reports that her mother knew about the abuse. Additional evidence shows Holl apologized to the victim for the sexual abuse through a Facebook message, which was retrieved by law enforcement.

Investigators conducted an interview with Holl in February 2017 where Holl stated the victim did live with him and the victim’s mother for exactly 5 years, starting when she was 10 years old. Holl admitted to sexually abusing the victim multiple times, starting when she was around 10 years old. Holl went on to mention 4 separate incidents of sexual abuse with the victim. Holl claimed during the interview that some of the instances occurred because the girl was curious about sexuality. Holl stated he told other people about these instances, including his pastor, his mother, his sister and the victim’s mother. Holl indicated he was sorry for what had happened and knew it was wrong.

Investigators also spoke with the victim’s mother, Trisha Deann Davis, who acknowledged she had lived with Holl for 9 years, and that the victim had also resided with them. Davis acknowledged that Holl had told her about the abuse, but she chose not to report it to law enforcement because she believed it was equal participation between Holl and the victim. Davis stated it happened because the victim was curious and Holl did not have the strength to say no.

Investigators later spoke to numerous family members of Holl, and discovered other instances of sexual abuse between other victims.

Holl is in custody pending the sentencing hearing, scheduled for July 10^th. The maximum penalty for first-degree criminal sexual conduct is 30 years in prison and second-degree criminal sexual conduct carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The case was investigated by the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by the Itasca County Attorney.

By — Shirelle Moore