A Twin Cities man who presented himself as a pimp — and offered his services to an undercover Rochester police officer — has pleaded guilty in the case.
Christopher James Perry, 37, of Brooklyn Park, entered the plea Thursday in Olmsted County District Court, where he was charged in February with felony attempt to solicit prostitution.
Sentencing has been set for June 24. He remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 conditional bail.
The charge was the result of a local undercover operation targeting sex traffickers. On Feb. 24, a Rochester officer created a profile on a social media site, identifying herself as an 18-year-old female and using terminology typically used in sex trafficking and prostitution.
The same day, she received a message from "Mr. Success," later identified as Perry, who told her he had an escort service in Florida but was in the Twin Cities area. The two exchanged multiple online and text messages, the complaint says, eventually forging an agreement that Perry would be the woman's pimp, saying he would "take care of her, keep her safe and take (her) down the right path."
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A public record check on the phone number he used came back to Perry, and a driver's license check came back with the age "Mr. Success" had given in a message. The license photo of Perry also matched a photo of "Mr. Success" on the online social media site.
The two agreed that the woman would take the bus from Rochester to Minneapolis to meet him. Local officers coordinated with the Minneapolis Police Department and set up surveillance in the bus station in Minneapolis.
When the scheduled bus pulled in, the undercover officer texted Perry, telling him she'd arrived; he told her to go to the front of the bus station. There, she saw Perry make a phone call; simultaneously, the officer's phone began to ring with a call from "Mr. Success." Perry was arrested at the scene.
