A 34-year-old man is charged for his role in several storm sewer vandalism incidents around St. Paul, Minnesota, the Ramsey County Attorney's Office announced on Friday.

According to court documents, St. Paul has been dealing with repeated incidents since June. Several hundred storm sewer grates were removed and dropped into the storm drains. 

Court documents say that on Wednesday, Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center received several reports about a man dropping sewer grates into holes in Downtown St. Paul. One incident occurred near East Ninth and North Temperance streets, and another at West Seventh and North Wabasha streets.

At about 9:45 a.m. Friday, a woman carrying a child fell into a sewer drain that was missing a grate near Ninth and Temperance. At the time. The woman reported pain after falling, though the child was uninjured, according to the court documents.   

Police were able to view video of the man removing the grates on Wednesday. The next morning, they encountered him outside Catholic Charities' Higher Ground shelter off West Fifth and Exchange streets. He was wearing the same clothing as seen on the video, according to court documents.

During an interview with police, the man admitted to removing the grates because they were "dirty and needed to be cleaned out." He also admitted to police that he had not been given permission, per the charging documents. 

He has been charged with five counts of first-degree damage to property. 

Residents are asked to email St. Paul Public Works if they see missing sewer grates. Police are also asking residents to check home surveillance photos or video if a drain is missing or damaged.