A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations is jailed and accused in federal court of coercing and enticing a 17-year-old girl into sex acts, which he photographed and filmed.

Timothy Ryan Gregg, 51, of Eagan, was charged Monday in U.S. District Court with producing child sexual abuse material after federal authorities say images and videos of the two engaged in sexual activity were found on her cellphone on May 29.

Timothy Ryan Gregg (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

Gregg made an initial court appearance Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster and was ordered to remain in federal custody at the Sherburne County Jail pending further court hearings.

Gregg’s attorney, Ryan Pacyga, told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday that Gregg “had no idea he was dealing with a minor” and “we have proof that he 100 percent had been told, repeatedly, that the alleged victim is an adult. He was repeatedly lied to about her age, which is a game changer under the law and was devastating for him to find out that she is not yet 18.”

According to court documents, which were unsealed Wednesday:

The girl’s father told police that he found on her cellphone, which she had left behind in a car, multiple sexually explicit images and videos, including some of her and a man engaged in sex acts. The man was identified by law enforcement as Gregg, who also serves as a task force officer with the FBI.

The cellphone showed that Gregg, who was listed in the girl’s contacts as “Labubu,” and the teen had sent text messages to each other and naked photos. Gregg also sent her photos and videos of the two engaged in sex in a hotel room.

The girl told law enforcement that she had met Gregg through the dating/meet-up app Tinder. She said he picked her up multiple times, mostly on Sundays, and that they went to a hotel, where he took photos and videos of them engaged in sex.

A check of hotel records by law enforcement showed that Gregg rented a room four times in March and twice in both April and in May, all on Sundays. Hotel employees said that Gregg would rent the rooms by himself and then bring a guest inside the hotel through the parking ramp.

Gregg used his “official ICE/HS email address to make the hotel reservations,” the complaint states.

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“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will always hold defendants in positions of public trust to account, particularly when they commit crimes against vulnerable children,” acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said Wednesday in a written statement. “I am proud of the swift and decisive action of the FBI and the Rochester Police Department, who responded immediately and worked together to take Gregg safely into custody.”

Alvin Winston Sr., special agent in charge of FBI Minneapolis, said the case against Gregg “represent a gross violation of both the law and the responsibilities entrusted to those who wear a badge.”

Meanwhile, Pacyga, Gregg’s attorney, said he has had a “long, distinguished career in law enforcement and has dedicated his life to public service. He is more than what he is accused of here, and we will see him through this.”

NORTH MANKATO — Bloomington Jefferson softball coach Jim Hanson Jr. had a couple of players who knew they wouldn’t see much playing time this spring on the fence about whether to even play this season.

He convinced them to, telling them they could potentially be a part of a magical ride.

Was he ever right.

Jefferson will play in its first-ever state title game Friday after upsetting top-seeded Forest Lake, 3-2, in the Class 4A semifinals Wednesday. Jefferson will meet Champlin Park at 9 a.m. Friday at the University of Minnesota, where one program will win its first state title.

“I thought we could do it,” Hanson said, “and now we’re here.”

Forest Lake built leads of 1-0 and 2-1 early, but fourth-seeded Jefferson broke through in a meaningful way in the top of the fifth when Alexandra Oerther and Grace Rolek delivered back-to-back, two-out RBI singles to flip the advantage.

All three runs Jefferson (23-2) scored on Forest Lake ace Avery Muellner, a St. Thomas commit, were unearned. That was the story of the game. Two incredible teams making an abnormal number of mistakes in the field and on the basepaths, which can often be the case on such a stage.

“Forest Lake is an awesome team and a great program. … We made a ton of mistakes, they made mistakes, so it was one of those things where you keep plugging away. You look at the score and you say, ‘Hey, it’s 3-2,’ ” Hanson said. “We just keep trudging forward whether it’s perfect or not. Today was probably the most mistakes we’ve made all season.”

Forest Lake (25-2), which made its sixth straight semifinal appearance after downing Edina in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, wasn’t able to muster a serious threat against Jefferson’s Brooke Borwege over the final three frames.

“We came here knowing that we’re going to play good teams, and sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. I think that was represented a bit there,” Muellner said. “But we fought our hearts out.”

CLASS 3A

Sixth-seeded Byron made a surprise run through the Class 3A state tournament and will play in the final Friday. Byron had 11 hits in its semifinal win over second-seeded Chisago Lakes.

Mackenzie Steele, Kaydence Fjerstad and Sydney Portner all had multiple hits for the Bears, who built an early 6-1 advantage in the semifinal and never looked back.

It was a different story in the quarterfinals.

Cretin-Derham Hall led Byron 2-1 with two outs in the top of the sixth inning of the Class 3A quarterfinals Wednesday morning before a couple of swings changed all of that.

Steele hit a double to knot the game, and Kaydence Fjerstad hit a two-run homer to power the Bears to a 4-3 upset of the third-seeded Raiders.

Byron tallied just four hits all day off Cretin-Derham Hall ace Brooke Nesdahl, but two of those left the yard. Meanwhile, Cretin-Derham Hall recorded eight hits, all from the top six batters in the order.

Hannah Yaeger went 2 for 3 while knocking in two runs for the Raiders, who loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, only to have Byron pitcher Natalia Behrens induce a ground ball to get out of the jam.

Class 2A

St. Agnes’ bid to reach a third straight state semifinal was cut short, effectively, in the first inning Wednesday.

Seventh-seeded Jackson County Central ripped off seven runs in the top half of the opening frame in an outburst powered by four hits, two walks and an error as the Huskies beat the second-seeded Aggies 10-0 in five innings.

The first five Jackson County Central (23-4) batters reached in order on: a walk, an infield hit to the pitcher, a fielding error, a strikeout where the batter reached on a wild pitch and a walk.

The first hit to the outfield came from the Huskies’ No. 6 hitter, Brielle Tufvesson. Her single plated a pair of runs.

That was more than enough run support of Huskies pitcher Hadley Wachal struck out 10 while surrendering just one hit. Gianna Regep had a single for the Aggies (22-3).

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Officials with the Minnesota Department of Corrections on Wednesday asked for patience from friends and family members of people who are incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater while they work out the details of the facility’s pending closure.

“The DOC is committed to ensuring a careful and thoughtful approach that takes the needs and wellbeing of incarcerated persons into consideration,” Commissioner Paul Schnell wrote in a memo posted online.

“This will be a complex process with many moving parts. It is unlike anything the DOC has undertaken before,” the memo continued. “We know you have lots of questions, and we ask for your patience as we navigate this enormous change.”

State leaders in May agreed to a phased closure of the Stillwater prison, citing safety and costly maintenance concerns at the 1914 facility. Plans call for the prison to be shuttered by June 30, 2029.

Reopen Appleton?

After the news of the closure broke, two state legislators sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Schnell asking them to “seriously consider” reopening the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton “as a permanent part of our correctional system.” The medium-security private prison, owned by CoreCivic, closed in 2010.

“The facility has a capacity of 1,600 beds, the same as Stillwater, and could be brought back into use much more efficiently than building a new facility from the ground up,” Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Alexandria, and Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, wrote in their letter. “This would also result in significant cost savings for taxpayers, as the facility is already well maintained.”

Westrom and Anderson noted that state DOC officials could pursue a number of different options, including a state contract, a long-term lease or even purchasing the facility.

Schnell on Wednesday dismissed that idea, saying that the purchase and operation of the “long-vacant Appleton facility is not regarded as an effective or efficient use of state resources.”

“The phased closure of MCF-Stillwater recognizes the age and condition of the facility and the state’s current fiscal constraints,” Schnell said in a statement. “State and federal prison systems around the country are closing antiquated prisons and consolidating the number of prison sites to maximize efficiency and resource utilization.”

A DOC study conducted in 2017 focused on adding capacity at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Faribault, “which is the most cost-effective option for adding modern correctional facility infrastructure in the future,” Schnell said.

“The Appleton facility presents a range of challenges, including the facility’s location relative to other DOC facilities, the ability to secure sufficient staffing and the cost of training an entirely new staff cadre, purchasing and updating the equipment and supplies needed for daily operations, and the logistical challenges of coordinating shared services across the state’s correctional system,” he concluded.

Mental health services

Westrom and Anderson also noted another option: Using the Appleton prison to expand mental health services should the state not require the full number of prison beds in the future.

“With increasing demand for mental health care across Minnesota, it’s worth exploring how the facility could serve both purposes,” they wrote. “That kind of dual use could help solve two problems at once.”

They also pitched Appleton, located in Swift County, as a great place to live.

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“For correctional staff who may choose to relocate, Appleton offers great outdoor recreation, a lower cost of living, and much more affordable housing than the Twin Cities,” they wrote. “This makes it a strong option for families and workers alike.”

The closure of the MCF–Stillwater, located in Bayport, is expected to be completed in two phases upon passage of the public-safety omnibus bill at the Legislature.

The first phase involves reducing operations and staffing over several months, moving inmates to other prisons, and conducting studies on logistics, closure impacts and the site’s long-term future. During the second phase, which is slated to begin in July 2027, the site will be vacated. Full closure is expected by June 30, 2029.

U.S. Air Force retired Col. Thomas Simonet lived a life of service on a global, national and local level.

During his 36-year tenure in the Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves, Simonet served in places like Korea, England, Germany and Turkey.

U.S. Air Force retired Col. Thomas “Tom” Simonet died May 29, 2025, at 70. (Courtesy of the Simonet Family)

As the state’s emergency preparedness liaison officer for the Air Force, Simonet spent a decade supporting Homeland Security efforts during major natural disasters or events including the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 Republican National Convention and the flooding of the Red River.

Simonet, of Stillwater, also helped out close to home, serving on the boards of the Washington County Historical Society, the Minnesota Air National Guard Historical Foundation, Knights of Columbus Council 1632 and the Stillwater Veterans Memorial.

Simonet died May 29, 2025, of complications related to pancreatic cancer at his house in the Croixwood neighborhood — the home where he grew up. He was 70.

Simonet, who served as treasurer of the Washington County Historical Society, was instrumental in the society’s efforts to create the Washington County Heritage Center, which opened in 2021, said Ryan Collins, who serves as the society’s vice president.

Simonet “did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to get Heritage Center ready to go,” said Collins, who also serves on the Stillwater City Council. “There’s no doubt in my mind that without Tom, it would not have happened.”

Simonet, who spent 34 years with Norwest/Wells Fargo Bank before retiring in 2017 as a vice president for Institutional Retirement Trust Services, had a “unique ability to negotiate without negotiating,” said Brent Peterson, the society’s executive director.

“He was a guy who could steer a conversation in the right direction that would make everything good for everyone,” Peterson said. “If it wasn’t for Tom’s financial leadership, the Washington County Heritage Center would not exist. The citizens of Washington County owe him a lot because of that. He truly was one of the finest people I’ve ever known.”

Joined rather than be drafted

Simonet was born and raised in Stillwater and graduated in 1972 from Stillwater High School, where he competed on the school’s ski, cross-country and track teams. That same year, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, following in the footsteps of his older brother Jack, who was a a mechanic on C-124 Globemaster.

“He travelled the world,” Tom Simonet wrote in a self-published memoir. “I received letters from Jack telling me of his adventures from Southeast Asia to Europe. He was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. To me, Hawaii was a distant and exotic land. … The draft was still in effect, and I wanted to go my direction and not have the government decide for me. I saw it as a good avenue to learn about myself and to learn a trade.”

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After being released from active service in 1976, he served in the Minnesota Air National Guard, 133rd Airlift Wing, in St. Paul, where he served as an aircraft mechanic and advanced in rank and positions of Flight Squadron, Wing Inspector General, and Group Commander with the Minnesota Air National Guard until 2004.

In 1977, he married Susan Duden; she died in 2018. The couple had two daughters. In 2022, he married Sharon McNamara.

Simonet received a bachelor’s degree in business from Metropolitan State University in 1983. He later received a master’s degree in business administration from American Military University in 2014.

I-35W bridge collapse

Simonet finished his military career in 2014 as the state’s emergency preparedness liaison officer, coordinating with local and state emergency managers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense to aid local communities when their resources become overwhelmed.

One of his proudest accomplishments was helping coordinate the dive crews searching for victims after the I-35W bridge collapsed in the Mississippi River on Aug. 1, 2007, said Lisa Sjogren, his oldest daughter.

A few hours before the collapse, Simonet found himself stopped in traffic on the bridge as he drove from Roseville to meet former work colleagues in Minneapolis.

“Traffic was limited to a single lane as major construction occurred on the bridge deck,” he wrote in his memoir. “I remember stopping in the southbound traffic lane, waiting to move forward. I felt the car bouncing as the northbound traffic was moving. I was relieved to get off that bridge.”

Simonet and Sjogren were at Simonet’s brother’s house in St. Paul when they got the news.

“His phone just went insane,” said Sjogren, of Elk River. “He literally set up a command where we were. He was calling saying, ‘I need divers, I need this, I need these people. Do we have medical support? Where are we sending them to? We have trauma, right? What can we provide?’ All this stuff that an emergency comes with.”

Simonet helped coordinate the National Guard and Reserve flying units “to offload the diver’s equipment and transport it to a staging area near the fallen bridge,” he wrote. “The Hennepin County Sheriff requested a group of specialized U.S. Navy divers. He had told the Secretary of Transportation that his divers were going into areas beyond their capabilities, and a group of professional deep water divers was needed to continue the search. They were still looking for the missing 13 victims.

“As I look back on that day, I always think of the school bus full of children that ended up just behind the semi-trailer where the driver lost his life,” he wrote. “When the bridge collapsed, the school bus dropped. Once it was safe, all the children climbed over the guardrail. … They ended up during this disaster at the perfect spot. I am thankful they were not one second further in their travels. In my firm belief, the mighty hand of God helped on that terrible day.”

Simonet received the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal, among many other commendations. In 2024, he was recognized for his service and contributions by the Minnesota Air National Guard at the Flight of Honor Ceremony honoring those who have “demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, service and heroism and have left a lasting impact on the organization.”

March 25, 2025, was declared “Tom Simonet Day” in Stillwater in recognition of his “lifetime of community service.”

St. Croix Base Ball Club

Thomas Simonet umpires a baseball game for the St. Croix Base Ball Club. Simonet died May 29, 2025, at his home in Stillwater of complications related to pancreatic cancer. (Courtesy of the Washington County Historical Society)

One of Simonet’s great joys was serving as the umpire for the St. Croix Base Ball Club, which plays by 1860 rules, Sjogren said. The 19th-century rules include: no wearing of gloves; no balls or strikes called by the umpire; foul balls are not considered strikes; and base runners can be tagged out if they overrun first base.

As umpire, it was Simonet’s job to start each inning by calling “Striker to the line!” to bid the striker (batter) to the line – a line drawn through the center of the home base.

“He loved saying ‘Striker to the line,’ even when he got sick,” Sjogren said. “When he couldn’t be out at the base ball games, I took the phone and stuck the phone by the players, and then my dad just yelled into the phone, ‘Striker to the line!’”

Simonet also loved playing cribbage, boating on the St. Croix River and outsmarting claw machines.

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“He was the master of the claw machine that you would see at places like Perkins restaurants,” said Sarah Sederstrom, his youngest daughter. “He had master-level precision, and he always won. Anytime he did win, he’d give the prize to a kid nearby.”

“I am convinced he was a surgeon in a previous life because of his precision with those things,” Sjogren said.

In addition to his wife and daughters, Simonet is survived by two grandsons, a stepdaughter and two step-grandchildren.

Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stillwater, with visitation from 4-8 p.m. Sunday at Simonet Funeral Home in Stillwater.