ST. PAUL, MINN. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Minnesota), published as received.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 150 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for sex trafficking a minor, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, in August 2020, Charles William Dexter III, 42, recruited a 14-year-old minor to engage in commercial sex acts for his benefit. Dexter arranged for these commercial sex acts using online advertisements, including ads posted on Megapersonals.com, to take place at hotels. He collected half of the proceeds from each of the appointments for commercial sex from the minor victim.

“January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and cases such as this represent our ongoing commitment to investigating and prosecuting those who exploit human beings, and in this case minor victims, for financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger.

“Combatting sex trafficking is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul,” said Jamie Holt, HSI St. Paul Special Agent in Charge. “Our agents will continue to focus on fostering safer communities by protecting and supporting sex-trafficking victims and bringing people like Dexter to justice.”

“The FBI is fully committed to combating human trafficking with our federal, state and local partners. Today’s sentence highlights the importance of this work in bringing justice to the victims and preventing human trafficking both in Minnesota and throughout the country,” said Alvin M. Winston, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Minneapolis Division.

Dexter, who pleaded guilty on September 6, 2022, to one count of sex trafficking of a minor, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Senior Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bloomington Police Department, and the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manda M. Sertich and Chelsea A. Walcker prosecuted the case.