Alleged Chicago-Based Sex Trafficker Arrested in Rochester Following Prostitution Sting

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A prostitution sting has led to a sex trafficking arrest in Rochester. 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court Friday morning.

The court document says the case began when Rochester police encountered an online sex advertisement. 

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Police were investigating whether the woman offering sexual encounters was a subject of human trafficking, the charges say. 

Rochester Police Arrest Suspect in Sex Trafficking Case

Using an undercover phone, police arranged a meeting with the woman in the ad. She was taken into custody when she arrived at a Rochester hotel on July 22. 

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Police learned a man identified as 32-year-old Mario Brandon Thompson controls the woman’s sexual activity, the charges allege.

The woman said she met Thompson in Chicago and initially believed the two were entering into a sexual relationship, the complaint says. 

Alleged Network in Midwest

Thompson is alleged to control “multiple females across the Midwest.”

He instructs the woman to have sex with or scam other men and to pay him once its over under the threat of violence, according to the complaint. 

Investigators obtained a warrant to track Thompson’s phone data and learned he had traveled between Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Columbus, and other, smaller population centers in the month of July, the court document says. 

Arrest at Rochester Hotel

Thompson was set to come to Minnesota this week and was arrested without incident when he arrived at an unnamed Rochester hotel on Wednesday. 

In a statement to police, Thompson denied engaging in human trafficking for sex but said he manages OnlyFans accounts for women, the complaint says. 

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Thompson is charged with one count each of engaging in sex trafficking with an individual and receiving profits from prostitution.

His conditional bail was set at $250,000 on Friday. He is due back in court next month.