Federal Prison Employee Charged in Rochester Underaged Sex Sting

Rochester, MN ( KROC-AM News )- An employee for the Federal Bureau of Prisons has been charged in a Rochester underage sex sting.

Rochester Police Department Communications Coordinator Amanda Grayson says officers conducted the proactive operation that led to the arrest for 11 weeks. Officers arrested the suspect on Friday, Nov. 1.

The Criminal complaint, filed in Olmsted County Court on Wednesday, identifies the corrections employee as

Solak messaged a social media account that was run by an undercover Rochester police officer on August 14, the charge say.

Charges: Federal Corrections Employee Sent Sexually Explicit Images, Engaged in Sexual Conversations With Undercover Rochester PD Officer Posing as Teen Girl

The Rochester man sent the first message, which said "boys need to mature," after the fake account posted a photo of a young girl with a caption about boys, the complaint says.

The undercover officer messaged Solak that they were about to turn 14 and the complaint alleged Solak responded with the shhh emoji. The conversations then began turning sexual and Solak, who also said he coaches youth sports, sent the undercover account sexually explicit photos of himself, according to the court document.

Investigators traced the account to a Rochester residence and executed a search at the home. The resident, who's physical description matched non-sexually-explicit photos sent in the chat, denied messaging the young girl, the complaint says.

Investigators then determined that Solak had been using the person's phone to message the undercover account, the charges say. Police then executed a search warrant at Solak's home on Nov. 1 and recovered a smartphone.

In a statement to investigators, Solak admitted to messaging the undercover account and said he would have sexual conversations with other girls after learning they were between the ages of 10 and 16.

He also said he would photos of other men from different social media accounts to remain anonymous, the complaint says.

Solak is charged with soliciting a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct, engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child, soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct and stalking by false impersonation.

A statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to KROC-AM News says Solak works at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester as a Human Resources Specialist. He's been placed on administrative leave and the federal agency is cooperating with local law enforcement, the statement says.

Solak is due to make his first court appearance in the case next month.

Story updated to include statement from Federal Bureau of Prisons