Criminal Records in Benton County

Benton County criminal records are kept by the District Court in Foley and the Benton County Sheriff's Office, which serves this central Minnesota county established in 1849. The county seat is Foley, and criminal records here cover everything from misdemeanor court filings to felony case histories. The county jail at 581 Highway 23 handles local custody, and the Sheriff's Office at 581 Highway 23, Foley maintains warrant and arrest data. You can access court records for free through Minnesota Court Records Online or pay $8 for a BCA conviction check. This page walks through each option for searching Benton County criminal records.

Benton County Sheriff's Office

The Benton County Sheriff's Office is located at 581 Highway 23, Foley, MN 56329. The county administration contact is Montgomery Headley at PO Box 129, 531 Dewey Street, Foley, MN 56329, phone 320-968-5001. The jail line is 320-968-5196, and the Sheriff's Office main number is 320-968-7201. The office handles patrol, warrants, investigations, and jail oversight for this central Minnesota county. Warrant verification is available by phone or in-person inquiry at the Sheriff's Office.

The Benton County Jail is a large facility at 581 Highway 23, Foley, MN 56329. The 100,355 square foot building has a capacity of 669 inmates and began housing inmates in April 1999. This is one of the larger county jail facilities in Minnesota by size. The jail operates under state licensing and DOC inspection standards. You can reach the jail directly at 320-968-5196. The county maintains an official current inmate list at co.benton.mn.us/226/Current-Inmate-List, which shows current bookings and charges.

Under Minn. Stat. § 13.82, arrest data maintained by the Sheriff's Office is public. This includes the time and date of arrest, charges filed, weapons used if any, and custody status. The Sheriff's Office also processes warrant inquiries. Call 320-968-7201 for warrant verification.

The Benton County Sheriff's Office website at co.benton.mn.us/188/Sheriffs-Office provides access to warrant information, jail data, and other public safety resources for the county.

The official Benton County inmate roster at co.benton.mn.us/226/Current-Inmate-List is the county-maintained source for current jail custody data.

How to Search Benton County Criminal Records

Start with Minnesota Court Records Online at publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us. This free tool searches the Benton County district court case index by name or case number. You'll see charges, hearing entries, and case dispositions for cases filed after July 1, 2015. Court-authored documents from 2005 through 2015 are also searchable. No account is needed for basic searches. Results appear as a list of cases, and you can click into each one for the full register of actions.

For in-person access or certified copies, visit the Benton County Government Center at 531 Dewey Street, Foley, MN 56329, phone 320-968-5000. The Court Administrator's office processes requests during business hours. Certified copies cost more than standard document copies. Benton County is part of the 7th Judicial District. Use mncourts.gov/Find-Courts for current court hours and any service updates.

For a statewide background check, the BCA at bca.dps.mn.gov runs a $8 conviction search that shows public felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions from the past 15 years. The time window is set by Minn. Stat. § 13.87. The DOC Offender Locator at coms.doc.state.mn.us/PublicViewer shows people in state custody or on state supervision from Benton County cases.

Benton County 7th District Court

Benton County is part of the 7th Judicial District, which covers several central Minnesota counties. All criminal cases in Benton County go through the district court at the Government Center in Foley. MCRO gives you free online access to documents filed since July 2015. The register of actions shows every event in a case, from initial filing through sentencing or dismissal. You can view documents without logging in and download them as PDFs at no cost.

Case types not available through MCRO include juvenile delinquency, domestic abuse cases, harassment matters, and sealed or expunged records. These restrictions apply uniformly across all Minnesota counties. If a case you need falls outside MCRO's scope, the Benton County Court Administrator can tell you what access options exist and what documents are releasable under the Minnesota Rules of Public Access.

Note: MCRO documents are unofficial copies. For legal use requiring court certification, contact the Court Administrator at 531 Dewey Street, Foley, MN 56329 to request certified copies.

Criminal Background Check in Minnesota

The BCA's public Criminal History Search at bca.dps.mn.gov covers all Minnesota conviction data in the state repository for the past 15 years. The fee is $8 per search, paid online. The BCA main office is at 1430 Maryland Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106, phone 651-793-2400. Under Minn. Stat. § 13.87, public data includes felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions within the 15-year window. Arrests without a conviction, juvenile records, out-of-state records, and federal data are all excluded. The BCA operates as the central repository under Minn. Stat. § 299C.46.

The BCA search result will show conviction history from across Minnesota, not just Benton County. This makes it useful for a complete picture of someone's Minnesota criminal history in one search. Subjects have the right to challenge the accuracy of BCA records under Minn. Stat. § 13.04 if they believe the data is wrong.

Expungement in Benton County

Benton County residents can seek to seal their criminal records through the 7th Judicial District Court in Foley. Automatic expungement under Minn. Stat. § 609A.015 covers cases that ended without a conviction. The BCA processes those without a petition. For convictions, the petition route under Minn. Stat. § 609A.03 applies. The waiting period depends on the offense level, ranging from two years for misdemeanors up to five years for felonies in most cases.

Filing a petition in Benton County means serving it on the Sheriff's Office, the BCA, and any other agency that holds related records. Each has 60 days to respond. The judge weighs the public interest against the burden on the petitioner. If the petition is granted, the record is sealed from public databases but remains accessible to law enforcement and prosecutors. LawHelpMN at lawhelpmn.org has free guides on the petition process for people who want to file without an attorney.

Predatory Offender Registry in Benton County

Benton County residents required to register as predatory offenders do so through the Sheriff's Office under Minn. Stat. § 243.166. This applies to those convicted of qualifying offenses such as criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping with sexual motivation, or certain prostitution crimes involving minors. Registration includes providing home and work addresses, vehicle information, and phone numbers. Address changes must be reported within five days. Annual in-person verification is required during the offender's birth month.

Community notification levels are set under Minn. Stat. § 244.052. Level III offenders in Benton County have their information publicly posted and searchable through the Department of Public Safety at dps.mn.gov. Level II offenders trigger notification to schools and daycare centers in the area. Level I information stays within law enforcement. Failure to register is a felony under state law.

Cities in Benton County

No major cities in Benton County meet our population threshold for dedicated pages. Criminal records for all Benton County residents are handled through the District Court in Foley.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Benton County. Cases near county lines may be filed in one of these neighboring court districts.