School board member and his brother arrested on felony child porn charges

The vice president of a North Dakota school board has been arrested and charged with five felony counts for possessing prohibited content involving minors.

Joel Opp, the vice president of the Hebron School Board, was allegedly in possession of approximately 1,000 images and videos of children being sexually abused, according to KX News. He was arrested Jan. 11.

The court further alleges Opp paid $50 for over 100 sexually explicit videos and images of minors on Jan. 4, the Grand Forks Herald reports.

Hebron Public Schools Superintendent Myron Schaff said the news came as a shock.

“The news of the allegations against one of our elected officials was shocking to our school community,” Schaff said, according to the Herald. “Clearly, they are very serious allegations and administration and the rest of the school board is working with our school district attorney to determine how best to proceed.”  

His brother, Joshua Opp was also arrested and is facing 10 counts for similar crimes. 

In addition to possessing sexually explicit photos and videos of minors, Joshua Opp is accused of directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor between Aug. 23 and Sept. 1, according to the Herald.  

Both individuals have been released on a $100,000 bond with strict conditions, including surrendering all firearms, no social media activity and no contact with minors.  

Joel Opp’s preliminary hearing and arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Southwest District Court. 

Despite the charges, Joel Opp remains listed on the school’s official website.  

“To date, Mr. Opp has not resigned,” Schaff confirmed.