Charges: 33-Year-Old Man Arrested After Arriving at Rochester Location for Sex with Fake Teen Boy

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A sex solicitation sting operation led to the arrest of a Rochester man. 

See Also: 55-Year-Old Man Injured in Car-Truck Collision at Hwy. 56 Intersection in Mower County

That’s according to Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office Captain Tim Parkin, who said deputies made the arrest around 5 p.m. Monday. 

Charges were filed against the man arrested on Tuesday. 

Rochester Man Accused of Meeting Fake Teen Boy for Sex

33-year-old Benjamin Kass is charged with one count each of soliciting a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual acts and engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child. 

The charges say the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office created a social media account that purported to belong to a person under the age of 18 located in Olmsted County. 

Get our free mobile app

Kass is accused of messaging the account. The court document says his profile picture was sexually explicit. 

The undercover law officer told Kass they could not communicate for multiple days. 10 days later, authorities checked the account and saw a message from Kass that asked for “pics,” the complaint says. 

See Also: Rochester Man Accused of Taking Sexually-Explicit Photo of Sleeping Girl 

The law officer told Kass they were 15 years old, the charges say. The two began texting after Kass said he lost access to his account and the undercover again told Kass they were 15 when Kass asked for the fake teen’s age. 

Kass eventually offered to pick up and bring the fake teen to his apartment so they could engage in sexual activities on July 11, however a meeting did not happen, the charges say. 

Kass is alleged to have attempted to set up other meetings for a sexual encounter and agreed to a meeting on Monday, the court document alleges. 

Arrest Made at Rochester Meeting Location

Law enforcement arrested Kass after he showed up to the meeting location in Rochester, which is not named in the complaint, the court document says. 

See Also: Racial Slur Trial Underway in Rochester 

Kass told authorities that he went to that location to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex, according to the complaint. 

Kass was released without bail following his first court appearance on Tuesday. He’s due back in court next month.