Left to right, Brister, Gonzales, Juhl and Czech

NEW ULM — The New Ulm Police Department on Wednesday identified the four individuals arrested Monday, during a juvenile sex trafficking sting in New Ulm.

The suspects charged are Aaron Paul Gonzales, 33, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico; Samuel Brister, 38, Kirbyville, Texas; Richard Allan Czech, Jr., 33, of Lindstrom, and Jerrad Chad Juhl, 43, of Sherburn.

Juhl is charged with attempting to solicit sex from a juvenile 13 to 15 years old, which is a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Czech, Brister and Gonzales are charged with attempting to solicit an individual reasonably believed to be under 18 but at least 16. This is a felony offense that carries 5 years in prison.

In the 18 months since New Ulm and other area law enforcement agencies began conducting these stings, a total of 70 people have been arrested and charged in the Brown County, Blue Earth and Nicollet area. In addition to the four men arrested on Monday, two were arrested in Nicollet County on Dec. 4 for adult prostitution crimes.

The investigations were conducted along with Nicollet County Sheriff’s Department and the Mankato Department of Public Safety and made possible by grant funding from the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.

“It is a wonderful program,” New Ulm Senior Investigator Jeff Hohensee said. “In the first year the Women’s Foundation gave us $40,000 and this year they gave us $50,000. It shows there is a commitment to continue this work into the future.”

On Tuesday night, the City Council accepted a Minnesota Department of Public Safety sex trafficking and training grant of  $44,000. The grant will be used in 2017 for further sex trafficking investigations and related training for Brown, Blue Earth and Nicollet counties.

Hohensee said 132 people responded to an advertisement placed by law enforcement on a social media site. Many of these people cut contact after being informed they were communicating with a juvenile, but some did not stop. Each of the four arrested on Monday were willing to compensate juvenile females for sexual acts.

“The demand is still high,” Hohensee said. “In some areas it is going down, but in others it is still up.”

With the new funding these types of stings will continue and local law enforcement wants everyone to know it is to dissuade this type of behavior.

“Law enforcement does not hide it,” Hohensee said. “That’s why we say don’t do it, and don’t do it here.”