Church volunteer facing various charges for interactions with youth group member

Micah David Avery

(Cook County Sheriff's Office)

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. – A volunteer in the Youth Program at Grand Marais Free Church has been arrested and charged with various crimes.

Micah Avery is charged with false imprisonment, engaging in electronic communication relating to sexual conduct with a child, and coercion.

Charging documents say Avery befriended a member of the youth group.

The youth group member said Avery began messaging them more throughout 2025. The document says Avery took the teen to a secluded area.  In that secluded area, Avery allegedly held them in a tight manner.  They struggled to get away and were eventually able to remove themselves from the situation.  The teen told law enforcement the interaction made them feel uncomfortable.

After that interaction, the teen stopped interacting with Avery.  Avery then allegedly began texting the teen complaining about the reduced interactions and threatening to spread gossip about the teen.

Avery allegedly told the teen that he could follow their location via social media.  Avery allegedly told the teen he would kill himself if they did not respond to messages.

The charging documents said Avery sent sexually suggestive text to the teen.  Then, Avery later allegedly texted that they need to delete the texts “if the cops get called.”

Law enforcement said they learned of the alleged incident when the teen reported the incident to church leaders, who then reported it to law enforcement.

FULL STATEMENT FROM GRAND MARAIS FREE CHURCH BOARD:

Grand Marais Free Church Logo

The board of the Grand Marais Free Church confirms that Micah Avery was a member of the congregation and served as a volunteer in our Youth Program during the period leading up to his arrest. Micah had successfully passed a background check as part of his volunteer work with our youth.

When Church Leadership became aware that Micah had crossed boundaries with a minor—a serious violation of our policies and biblical standards—we then promptly reported it to the appropriate authorities, which triggered an investigation leading to his arrest. Church leadership then took additional steps to notify all relevant parties and immediately barred Micah from entering church premises or participating in any church activities.

These restrictions remained in place following his subsequent arrest and will continue to remain in place. Our foremost concern is for those affected, and the church is actively working to provide appropriate support.

Submitted by, the Grand Marais Free Church Board