Rochester Man Sentenced to Jail & Probation For Prostitution Bust

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - One of the seven men charged after a major prostitution bust in Rochester last year was sentenced last week.

The Rochester Police Department, in partnership with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office, the Olmsted County Attorney's Office, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a press release after conducting what was termed a proactive sex trafficking enforcement operation in mid-April of last year. It involved fake online advertisements posted by law enforcement on websites known to be used by people seeking to purchase sex.

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The criminal complaints filed against the men stated that the targets of the investigation were instructed to message a phone number provided on the ad to arrange for the purchase of sex. After chatting online with an undercover officer posing as a person under the age of 18, the men were arrested after they showed up at an agreed-upon meeting place in Rochester.

22-year-old Benjamin Michael Kinyon was among those arrested. He previously entered a guilty plea to a felony prostitution charge involving a person he reasonably believed was under the age of 18.

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Kinyon has now been sentenced to 14 months on probation and a year in jail, although all but four days of the jail sentence were stayed by the judge, who for the purposes of sentencing indicated the conviction was treated as a gross misdemeanor. Kinyon was also ordered to pay a $750 fine.