Florida Sting Investigation Leads to Rochester Man’s Guilty Plea
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man today entered into a plea agreement in a case involving allegations of soliciting a child for sex.
52-year-old Kyle Jo Werner was charged with five felony counts last summer as a result of a police sting investigation conducted by authorities in Florida. The criminal complaint says a detective with the Coral Springs Police Department was posing as a 13-year-old girl online and contacted a Rochester police investigator after chatting with a Rochester man for several days.
The court document says the conversations between the officer and Werner became sexual and, at one point, the Rochester man sent to a video depicting himself performing a lewd act. It was also alleged that he described sexual acts he wanted to perform on the young girl, who was actually an undercover officer.
After receiving information from the Florida detective, the complaint says a Rochester police investigator verified Werner's identity and found a tip from 2018 that accused the Rochester man of using the same username to chat with undercover officers posing as 14-year-old girls. An anonymous tipster also alleged that Werner was in possession of child sexual abuse materials.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Werner admitted to a charge of Engaging in Electronic Communication Relating or Describing Sexual Conduct with a Child, while the four other charges were dismissed. The prosecution also agreed to recommend a stayed prison sentence and 30 days in jail with work-release privileges. Werner is scheduled to be sentenced in June.
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Gallery Credit: Samm Adams
