Man in town for Super Bowl charged with prostitution of children under 16
2/1/2018
A Branson, Mo. man, in town to work the Super Bowl, was charged with two counts of prostitution of children under 16, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced at a news conference Thursday.
Justin Beard, 33, was arrested when he responded to a Craigslist ad that had been placed by a sex-trafficking taskforce. He is expected to make his first court appearance Friday.
Freeman said that because of the huge influx into a city during a big event, such as the Super Bowl, there is more commercial sex activity.
“This will make them aware that if they are engaging in this activity, we are watching, we will arrest you and we will charge you,” Freeman said.
Amanda Koonjbeharry, manager of Hennepin County’s No Wrong Door Initiative and a co-chair of a Minnesota taskforce on increasing services for victims of sex trafficking, as well as outreach and enforcement of sex trafficking laws said research at the University of Minnesota show there are more on-line ads during large events in a city.
“This issue is happening 365 days a year and we are sending the message that our efforts will not end after this weekend,” Koonjbeharry said.
The criminal complaint states that Beard saw the ad and began texting to the number provided, thinking he was talking first to the man trafficking a 15-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy and then thought he was texting with the girl. In all cases, he was communicating with undercover agents.
He eventually offered two VIP tickets to a Super Bowl event, which he said were worth $100 each, according to the complaint. When he showed up at the Minnetonka apartment where he was directed to go, he was arrested by police.
“Over a year ago, many agencies got together to take on this effort,” Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom told the news conference. “It is not going to stop after Sunday. It won’t stop until we can see a significant drop.”
The agencies involved in the sex-trafficking task force also include: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Woodbury, Oakdale, Plymouth, Bloomington, Fargo and Grand Forks Police Departments; the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations and the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Watch the press conference (YouTube).
Beard Criminal Complaint (PDF)