7 Men Charged After Rochester Police Underage Sex Investigation
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Seven Rochester area men were arraigned in Olmsted County Court today on felony charges resulting from an undercover "sting" sex trafficking investigation.
Rochester Police, in partnership with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, the Olmsted County Attorney's Office, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducted what was termed a proactive sex trafficking operation on Wednesday and Thursday of this week that culminated in the arrests of the seven individuals.
According to the criminal complaints against all seven men, Rochester police created and posted online advertisements on websites known to be utilized by people seeking to purchase sex. The targets of the investigation were instructed to message a phone number provided on the ad to arrange for the illicit services.
The court documents say online chatting sessions began on Thursday and each of the men allegedly spoke with undercover officers posing as a person under the age of 18. After agreeing to meet to purchase sexual acts from the "underage" individuals, the men were taken into custody individually when they showed up at prearranged locations in Rochester to allegedly complete the illegal transactions.
Rochester Police identified the defendants as:
50-year-old Andrew Gene O'Neill of Kasson
39-year-old Nathan Harold Robertson of Stewartville
21-year-old Benjamin Michael Kinyon of Rochester
48-year-old Russell Jay Hodge of Hayfield
24-year-old Nicholas Robert Bain of Rochester
22-year-old Antonio Cruz Hernandez of Rochester
48-year-old Hilario Perez Zenil of Rochester
All seven men have been charged with a felony count of Prostitution-Actor Hires or Agrees to Hire and Reasonably Believes Under 18 but at least 16 years old.
They were released without bail following today's court appearances and have been ordered to return to court for required hearings next month or in June.
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