/usr/web/www.marshallindependent.com/wp-content/themes/coreV2/single.php
×

Hundreds of texts sent during sex sting, court documents reveal

Two Lyon County men arrested during Brown County operation

NEW ULM — Court documents involving the arrests of two Lyon County residents charged with felony prostitution revealed details of the week-long undercover sex sting operation in Brown County.

Lawrence D. Depyper, 70, of Lynd, and Paul R. Lund Jr., 46, of Cottonwood, were among eight males were arrested during the operation. The felony prostitution charges were filed in Brown County District Court Tuesday.

Depyper and Lund, both of Lyon County, were released on conditions including having to appear for their next court dates, Sept. 26 and Sept. 12, respectively, both at 8:30 a.m. Both men are facing felony counts with a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.

The court documents revealed that the eight suspects and law enforcement sent hundreds of text messages to each other. Brown County Sheriff’s Office Senior Investigator Jeff Hohensee said the undercover sting operation included Brown and Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office staff, Springfield and New Ulm Police and the Mankato Department of Public Safety.

Undercover investigators acted as 16-year-old females willing to trade sex or sex acts for money or narcotics. The first advertisement was posted online on Aug. 20. After suspects initiated email conversations, they were directed to text message undercover agents at their cellular number, according to court documents.

The complaint against Lund states that the defendant responded to an ad law enforcement posted on Backpage.com. The defendant used a cell phone number as his means of communication, discussing rates and exchanging other data.

The defendant arrived at the undercover location located at a residence in Brown County and was arrested without incident. The defendant had $267 in cash on him, which would have covered the $250 per hour agreed upon rate.

The complaint against Depyper states that he had contacted the under cover agent by telephone. The agent was acting in an undercover capacity as a 16-year-old female. They communicated through text messages and phone calls, exchanging personal data and agreed upon a price. When the defendant arrived at the designated location and invited inside, he was then placed under arrest without incident.

“We really have a good team that works together and fits in well,” Hohensee said. “When doing these sting operations, safety is our number one issue. Without the cooperation of local law enforcement, these stings wouldn’t be possible. We have arrested 98 suspects since we began doing these operations a couple of years ago.”

“Some people don’t think sex sting operations can happen in small towns, but this is proof that they can,” Hohensee said. “I believe these eight arrests show that this problem is far more prevalent than anyone thought. No one is policing the Internet. These arrests are the reality of the situation.”

Hohensee cited the existence of public and private grants from government entities and women’s supportive organizations as being vital in law enforcement being able to conduct sex sting operations. The investigations were made possible due to grants received from the Minnesota Women’s Foundation “Girls Are Not For Sale” campaign and the Minnesota Department of Justice.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today