Olmsted County charges 7 in juvenile prostitution sting

(ABC 6 News) – Rochester police arrested seven men in a prostitution sting Thursday, April 18.

According to Olmsted County court documents, the men were charged with Felony Prostitution — Actor Hires or Agrees to Hire and Reasonably Believes Under 18 but at least 16 years of age in Olmsted County Court Friday, April 19.

Rochester police confirmed the sting after ABC 6 News reached out for confirmation that only seven men had been arrested.

RELATED: 6 men arrested in Rochester prostitution investigation – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com

According to court documents, Rochester police conducted a sting at a local business, and created an ad luring men to a specific location to meet with a female offering sexual services for money.

According to court documents, officers made an online ad April 17, began chatting with suspects April 18, and during conversations online, revealed to each that the prostitute they planned to meet “was actually 16 years old.”

Each man allegedly agreed to meet the juvenile for sex anyway.

The men arrested Thursday and charged Friday are as follows:

• Russell Jay Hodge, 48, of Hayfield. Hodge was arrested in a similar RPD prostitution sting in November of 2022. He pleaded guilty and received one year of probation in January of 2023.
• Nicholas Bain, 24, of Rochester
• Antonio Cruz Hernandez, 22, of Rochester
• Benjamin Kinyon, 21, of Rochester
• Nathan Robertson, 39, of Rochester
• Andrew O’Neil, 50, of Kasson
• Hilario Zenil, 48, of Rochester

“Rochester Police Department will not stop,” RPD chief Jim Franklin said in a press release. “Together with our criminal justice partners we will continue to seek out those who victimize children through sex trafficking and sexual exploitation and hold them accountable.”

RPD ensures advocates from Dodge & Olmsted Victim Services and Safe Harbor are ready and available to help any victims identified during such operations, according to the press release.