A Stearns County Sheriff’s Deputy faces 21 counts of criminal charges including 18 counts of criminal sexual conduct. 40-year-old Deputy Phillip Jerome Meemken was arrested Friday in St. Cloud and is being held in the Crow Wing County Jail. According to the criminal complaint, the three alleged victims include two juvenile relatives of Meemken and another juvenile acquaintance. The state Department of Public Safety says one of the alleged victims called the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office to report a series of sexual assaults which allegedly took place between July of 2008 and December of 2009. None of the alleged incidents appear to have occurred while Meemken was on duty.

Meemken is a 17-year veteran of the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office. He was placed on paid administrative leave in December, when the first victim reported an alleged assault.