Rochester Man Charged in Facebook Child Sex Solicitation Sting

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- An undercover child sex solicitation sting has led to felony charges against a Rochester man. 

See Also: Stewartville Father Accused of Abusing Infant Now in Custody 

The criminal complaint, filed in Olmsted County Court on Monday, says the Brazos County Sheriff's Office in Texas conducted the undercover sting by posing as an underage girl on Facebook. 

Members of the southeastern Texas law enforcement agency informed Rochester Police that a Rochester citizen had been messaging with the undercover officer for multiple months, the complaint says. 

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Charges: Rochester, MN Man Sent Sexually Explicit Messages, Image to Undercover Officer Posing as 14-Year-Old Girl on Facebook

On Feb. 5, Rochester police were informed that a Facebook user, identified as 48-year-old Shem Eugene Goette of Rochester, had been messaging the account since last October, according to the court document. 

The messages sent by Goette were sexual in nature and included the undercover officer saying they were a 14-year-old girl, the charges allege.

 At one point, Goette sent the undercover officer a sexually explicit photo of himself and asked for the fake teenager to send him a nude photo, the complaint says. 

Authorities executed a search warrant at Goette’s home on Wednesday and seized two cell phones. In an interview with law enforcement, Goette denied talking to underage girls then admitted to having “dirty conversations” with a girl under the age of 18, according to the complaint.

Goette is charged with one count of soliciting a child for sexual act through electronic communication, a count of engaging in electronic communication describing sexual conduct with a child and a count of distributing material describing sexual conduct to a child. 

Goette was released without bail following his first court appearance on Monday morning. He’s due back in court next month.