A Polson man faces a felony charge after allegedly trying to pass himself off as a U.S. marshal to two minors last weekend.

Pernell Dionne, 36, appeared in Lincoln County Justice Court on Aug. 9 on a single count of impersonating a public servant. He was initially held on a $5,000 bond.

Authorities arrested Dionne about 6:43 p.m., Aug. 7 after responding to a report of an individual

making inappropriate contact with several children near the Libby Creek Bridge on U.S. Highway 2. In an affidavit, Deputy Derek Breiland of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office wrote that he found Dionne resting on the guardrail upon his arrival.

Dionne told Breiland that he was sitting underneath the bridge when two girls appeared. They offered him food, which he accepted. Dionne said the pair seemed frightened, so he told them he was a U.S. marshal and a deputy sheriff, according to court documents. As proof, Dionne showed them a badge, court documents said.

“The badge is fake and Dionne is not associated with any law enforcement agency,” wrote Breiland, who subsequently confiscated the badge as evidence.

Breiland asked Dionne why he believed he was law enforcement. The other man said his grandfather

served in the U.S. Army and so, by dint, Dionne “was a cop.” He said he showed the girls the badge to make them feel safe around him, according to the affidavit. “Dionne seemed shocked when I told him he was not a law enforcement officer,” Breiland

wrote. He arrested Dionne soon after and took him to the Lincoln County Detention Center.