Plea Entered in Case of Minnesota Teen Missing For Two Months

Pine City, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A northern Minnesota man has reached a plea agreement in a criminal case that initially involved charges that he harbored a missing teenager but was later expanded to include allegations of sexual assault.

According to court records, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a missing person alert for a 14-year-old girl two years ago at the request of the Forest Lake Police Department. The alert indicated the juvenile was last seen leaving her home on a bike on May 19, 2023.

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The criminal complaint against 39-year-old Sean Patrick Bellach says investigators found messages he exchanged with the missing girl. The complaint also states that investigators learned the Dalbo, Minnesota, man had been in a romantic relationship with the girl’s mother and had lived with them.

Law enforcement later executed a search warrant at Bellach’s residence in the Cambridge area and found a trailer matching the description of one attached to the girl’s bicycle the day she disappeared. Investigators also discovered two cell phones linked to Bellach’s name that were tracked to a rural property in Pine County.

A search of that property led to the discovery of the teenager hiding inside a closet. The property owners, who told investigators that Bellach was a close friend, reported that he had brought the girl there and set her up in a tent in the woods near the home.

According to the complaint, the homeowner said Bellach told them the girl was being abused by her parents, and they believed they were helping her by allowing her to stay. Bellach later admitted to investigators that he had assisted the girl during the two months she was missing and had lied to law enforcement about her whereabouts.

He was initially charged with felony deprivation of parental/custodial rights, but the charges were later amended to include kidnapping, child solicitation, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. The complaint says the ongoing investigation after the girl was found uncovered evidence of sexual conversations between Bellach and the juvenile, as well as DNA evidence of sexual contact.

Under the terms of a plea agreement finalized in Pine County Court today, Bellach entered Alford pleas to the kidnapping charge and one of the criminal sexual conduct charges. An Alford plea means he does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence to convict him.

Bellach is scheduled to be sentenced in October.