Minneapolis man charged in sex sting; he thought he was meeting a minor in Little Canada, according to charges

Deanna Weniger, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
·1 min read

Sep. 14—A Minneapolis man was charged Monday after being caught in a police sting aimed at those who would solicit and sexually exploit children online.

Jefferson Roger Montenegro Gutierrez, 42, was charged with soliciting a child for sex and engaging in electronic communications regarding sexual conduct with a child.

According to the criminal complaint, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Predatory Crimes Section and Ramsey County Sheriff's Office conducted a joint operation earlier this month targeting the solicitation of children for sex via online chat rooms.

Working from a St. Paul location, an undercover agent posted a profile on the website "Plenty of Fish" using a photograph of a young girl. The agent did not initiate contact, but waited to see who would contact her.

A man, later identified as Gutierrez, with the username "fluffylion79" reached out. The agent identified herself as a 14-year-old girl.

Gutierrez, who tried to disguise his phone number through an Internet program, talked explicitly about how he wanted to engage in sex with the girl and sent her a photo of himself.

The agent offered to meet him at a fast food restaurant in Little Canada. Gutierrez accepted, showed up and was arrested.

As of Monday evening, Gutierrez was in custody in the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center. His next court appearance is Oct. 20.