UPDATE: Rochester man arrested on child solicitation charges sentenced to 30 days in jail

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man accused of soliciting an undercover officer pretending to be a child was sentenced to 30 days in jail on work release and 5 years on probation Monday, June 10.

Kyle Jo Werner, 53, pleaded guilty to one charge of electronic communication related to/describing sexual conduct with a child in exchange for the dismissal of three other charges related to child solicitation.

He received credit for two days spent in the Olmsted County Jail.

Werner was ordered to attend sex offender programming, avoid unapproved contact with female juveniles, avoid places with children or vulnerable adults, and register as a predatory offender.

—–PREVIOUS STORY—–

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man accused of soliciting an undercover officer pretending to be a child entered a guilty plea at his pretrial hearing Friday, March 22.

Kyle Jo Werner, 53, was accused of the following: soliciting a child through electronic communication; engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child; distributing sexual material to a child via electronic communication; and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

Werner pleaded guilty to one charge of engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child in exchange for 30 days in jail with work release, probation, and the dismissal of the other felony charges.

His sentencing is scheduled for June 10.

—–PREVIOUS STORY—–

(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: A Rochester man is scheduled to stand trial on multiple charges after allegedly soliciting an undercover officer pretending to be a child.

Kyle Jo Werner, 52, pleaded not guilty to the following felony charges Tuesday, Oct. 17: soliciting a child through electronic communication; engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child; distributing sexual material to a child via electronic communication; and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

Werner is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing March 22, 2024, followed by a jury trial March 25.

—–PREVIOUS STORY—–

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man faces four charges of soliciting a child and engaging in sexual communication with a child after allegedly sexting an undercover officer pretending to be a 13-year-old girl.

Kyle Jo Werner, 52, faces felony charges of soliciting a child through electronic communication; engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child; distributing sexual material to a child via electronic communication; and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

According to court documents filed Friday, June 15, Rochester police received a report from the Coral Springs, Florida police department which accused Werner of soliciting an undercover officer pretending to be a minor.

According to the report, Werner is accused of chatting with the undercover officer between May 18 and 29. According to court documents, the undercover officer initially pretended to be a 14-year-old girl.

Werner, allegedly under the name “mntwins29**” on a chat app, allegedly chatted with the undercover officer, suggesting activities they could do together if they lived closer and asking about “her” physique and appearance, then turned the conversation sexual May 19.

According to the court documents, Werner also asked the undercover officer if “she” was actually 14, or if she was actually 13.

The officer said “she” was 13 — to which Werner allegedly replied that it was fine, and he “would still talk to her if she was 12,” then asked her to be his girlfriend.

Coral Springs police claimed that Werner engaged in sexual behavior via video on several occasions.

The undercover officer allegedly sent Werner a photo of a young girl with an attachment that shares the IP address of the recipient.

Werner also allegedly shared his name, appearance, place of employment, phone number, and email address with the undercover officer during the chats.
Rochester police noted in the court documents that Werner was the subject of a previous Internet Crimes Against Children tip from 2018, in which Werner allegedly used the same username and spoke to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old in 2018.

In April of 2023, there was also an anonymous “Crimestoppers” tip that claimed Werner possessed Child Sexual Abuse Material, or child pornography, per court documents.

According to court documents, Rochester police received a search warrant for Werner’s home and vehicles June 14.
Werner’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 11.