Mankato is a city of approximately 45,000 residents, situated southwest of Minneapolis in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in central Minnesota. Located at the juncture of U.S. Highway 14 and U.S. Highway 169, law enforcement has reported prostitution activity, as well as incidents of sex trafficking and prostitution-related robberies in the community in recent years.

In January 2015, officers with the Mankato Department of Public Safety, New Ulm Police Department, and the Blue Earth and Nicollet County Sheriff’s Offices coordinated to conduct a reverse sting targeting sex buyers. During the investigation, a “cooperating individual” placed a decoy advertisement on a website known for commercial sex sales; she then arranged to meet the men who responded to the listing at a Mankato hotel. Five sex buyers were arrested as a result; their names, ages, and hometowns were released to the public. In the days following the operation, media reported that four of the five men arrested had been served both felony and misdemeanor solicitation charges, since the hotel where they were arrested was close to a city park.

In a public statement, a representative with the Mankato DPS reported that law enforcement launched the sting as “part of a statewide effort to crack down on the sexual exploitation of women and girls,” with “the goal to eliminate the demand for prostitutes.” She added:

“Law enforcement recognizes our city and surrounding communities are not immune to this. These girls and women are being victimized by exploitation. We’re not just out to make arrests, but we’re looking to educate the community.”

In June 2015, the NCSO and Mankato law enforcement conducted a second web-based reverse sting, this time targeting individuals attempting to purchase sex from minors. Ten sex buyers were arrested as a result of the investigation, staged at a Mankato hotel. All of the men’s identities were publicized in the press. When asked about the sting by the St. Peter Herald, a NCSO representative noted:

“We were surprised by the amount of demand… Within five minutes of posting the Backpage.com online advertisement, calls came in to investigators. We stopped at 10 [sex buyers], but we could have arrested many more.”

In July 2015, at least six people were arrested in a reverse sting at a Mankato hotel. The Mankato Department of Public Safety, Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Brown County Sheriff’s Departments cooperated on the sting.

In October 2017, a Mankato man arrested in a June 2017 reverse sting was sentenced to a year of probation by the Nicollet County Court. He received a stay on a year of jail time with the probation and was ordered to serve 40 hours of community service. He was one of four people arrested during a sting in North Mankato conducted by the Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office, New Ulm Police Department, and Mankato Department of Public Safety.