A St. Paul acting instructor took video of himself making sexual contact with a preteen during an acting class, and it wasn’t his first time being accused of lewd behavior with preteens, according to a complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court.
Nicholas Charles Barghini, 31, was charged Friday with another count of criminal sexual conduct, this time second-degree. He is in the midst of court proceedings stemming from two charges of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct from a July incident.
The new charge alleges that on July 15, a woman brought her pre-teen daughter to the Merriam Park Library in St. Paul for an acting class with Barghini, according to the complaint.
Barghini instructed the girl to recite her monologue in a room with him. No one else was allowed in the room, according to the complaint.
Barghini told the girl to lie on her stomach across a row of wooden chairs with her feet on his lap. She was to recite her monologue while he tickled her feet, the complaint said.
Barghini then simultaneously tickled her feet while masturbating, sometimes making sexual contact with her feet and toes, according to the complaint.
Authorities found a video — titled under the girl’s first name — on his external hard drive. Several other similar self-made videos show the same type of behavior, the complaint said.
PREVIOUS ALLEGATIONS
The first charges against Barghini came July 31.
A 10-year-old girl attended an acting class and told her mother she never wanted to go back because the teacher “did weird stuff to her,” a criminal complaint said.
The teacher apologized, but the mother probed further and discovered through library surveillance footage that the teacher removed the girl’s shoes and socks, buried his face in her feet and touched them while apparently masturbating, charges said.
Surveillance showed similar behavior toward an 8-year-old girl, according to the complaint. She was identified and Barghini faced additional charges the next day.
‘SEX GOALS’
Authorities also found a piece of paper in Barghini’s wallet that outlined “sex goals” and a desire to form a cult, the complaint said.
No. 5 on the list, “Sex Goals,” had rows of ages and columns listed underneath it. “Feet” and “other” were included on the list, and there were Xs marked in the pre-13 and 13-17 age categories, according to the complaint.
He has not yet made a plea in the fifth-degree charges. Bail is $1 million for his most recent charge.
No attorney was listed for him for Friday’s charge.
Barghini’s criminal record includes 29 parking violations, three minor alcohol consumption citations, and other traffic issues.