Former NIC official held on $100,000 bond

A former North Idaho College official accused of offering students scholarship money in exchange for sex was ordered held in jail on $100,000 bond. Joseph M. Bekken, who was fired from his position as NIC’s financial aid director and arrested by Coeur d’Alene Police on Wednesday, appeared before a Kootenai County judge this afternoon. “I’m not a flight risk. I’m not going anywhere,” Bekken, 36, told 1st District Judge Scott Wayman. “I have my wife and kids here. I’m not going anywhere.” Bekken asked the judge to lower the bond. Wayman noted that Bekken does not have a criminal history, but he also took note of information from the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office that he may face additional charges, including federal charges. “The allegations in this case are very, very serious,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jedediah Whitaker told the judge. “This is conduct that has been going on for many, many years.” Whitaker said investigators aren’t yet certain how much public money Bekken had access to. He told Wayman he also understands that Bekken was terminated from his previous job as a financial aid counselor at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Whitaker said he believes Bekken does pose a risk of fleeing the area and asked the judge for the $100,000 bond. Bekken, 36, was charged with five felonies related to the alleged financial aid-for-sex scheme, including attempting to procure a prostitute, and attempted misuse of public money by a public employee. He also has been charged with burglary, computer crimes and bribery. According to a criminal complaint filed today by the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Bekken allegedly entered an NIC building with the intent to commit theft, and then accessed a computer system to devise or carry out a scheme to defraud or obtain money fraudulently. The bribery charge applies because Bekken allegedly agreed to accept a benefit, sex, in exchange for providing financial aid. Bekken did not have a lawyer for today’s court appearance. “I was hoping for a public defender,” he told the judge. Wayman said he reviewed Bekken’s financial resources and determined he does not qualify for a publicly funded lawyer. Bekken was hired in 2010 and was paid $73,720 a year, according to the college. Investigators said Bekken made the scholarship money offer via a solicitation on Craigslist. Police, working with NIC and the FBI, created a false student account to engage him in response to the ad. Bekken allegedly secured $587 in college funds for the fictitious student with the understanding he would go to her apartment to have sex with her on Feb. 2. Police confronted and interviewed him, and the college fired Bekken that day. In his interview with police, Bekken said he used Craigslist to find others, mostly men, for casual sexual encounters when he worked at Grand Canyon University. He also said a few semesters ago he got the idea to offer scholarship money for sex and posted his offer to NIC students in the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist, according to a police report. It read: “Hello, I have a proposition for NIC students. E-mail me and we can discuss. M4W, M4M, M4MW.” The shorthand stands for man seeking a woman, a man or a male-female couple.