Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A University of Minnesota staff member who was arrested on a prostitution charge in Rochester says he was “doing research.”

Police Lt. Mike Sadauskis says 36-year-old Solen Feyissa responded to a bogus online ad posted by the RPD vice unit and made arrangements to meet at a local hotel Wednesday afternoon. Sadauskis says the "fee" he agreed to was $150.

Sadauskis says when he found out the person he was meeting was actually a police officer, Feyissa said he wanted to learn about prostitutes. He told the officer, “I was just curious on how their lives are lived.”

But Sadauskis says the officer’s report indicates Feyissa was seeking sex from a prostitute, not research.

According to the University of Minnesota, Feyissa is employed as an Instructional Designer and works at the School of Public Health Office of E-Learning in Minneapolis.

Feyissa has a Rochester address.

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