BCA: 5 Men Arrested In Craigslist Sex Sting
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Five arrests were made recently after an operation that targeted men who were soliciting teenage girls for sex on Craigslist, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The men arrested include 61-year-old Bruce Eric Keith of Mankato, 18-year-old Kaleb Lewis Linse of Fairmont, 37-year-old Jamie Allan Lovald of Richfield, 35-year-old William Edward Rod of St. Louis Park and 32-year-old Andrew John Versteeg of Eagle Lake.
All five men are charged with felony counts of soliciting sexual conduct with a child through electronic communication, describing sexual conduct during electronic communication with a child and providing material related to sexual conduct to a child. During the operation, a BCA agent posed as a 14-year-old girl and corresponded with each of the men in the "Casual Encounter" section on Craigslist.
Authorities say in each case, the men arranged to meet with the girl for a sexual encounter and were arrested when they arrived at the location.
BCA agents were assisted in the operation by the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force and the Mankato Department of Public Safety.