Two more local men arrested for online advertising to children

POLK COUNTY, Minn. (Valley News Live) – Ongoing investigations have led to the arrest of two additional local suspects on charges of “soliciting a child or believing to be a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct.”

23-year-old Joseph Robert Thompson and 34-year-old Trey Kyle Soder, both of Crookston, were arrested Oct. 15. District officials say this investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.

Earlier this month, three locals were arrested following a proactive, undercover chat operation that identified online child sex brokers, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said 45 people from across the United States and Canada were under investigation.

The three locals arrested and charged at the time were: Telesforo Lacambra Ragra, 53, of Thief River Falls, Kaden James Marquart, 21, of Grand Forks and Mark Richard Olson, 45, of Twin Valley. All are accused of soliciting a child or believing themselves to be a child for sexual conduct through electronic communication. Ragrag has other instances of disseminating material via electronic communications that relates to/describes sexual behavior toward a child.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office urges parents to proactively monitor their children’s devices, social media apps and internet usage. Some of the applications currently seeing high activity from people who have sexual contact with children include Snapchat, Kik, Whisper, Meet24, Meetme, Grindr and Bumble. The popularity of these applications varies and parents should always be aware of their children’s internet activities. Parents should pay particular attention to dating applications on their children’s devices as some of these applications may not be intended for dating activities.

If you suspect your child is being courted, contact local law enforcement and file a report.

Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.