BISMARCK - Seventeen men accused of responding to an ad for prostitution posted by officers of the Bismarck Police Department were charged in Bismarck Municipal Court on Tuesday.
One of the men had been arrested on a similar charge last year, while another was out on bond for allegedly trying to solicit an underage girl in Glendive, Mont., last October.
The following men have been charged with misdemeanor soliciting prostitution:
- Mitchell James Ahlers, 36, of Vining, Minn.
- James Dennis Andrews, 36, of Fargo.
- Jason Michael Becknell, 30, of Bismarck.
- Phillip Christian Brockel, 30, of Bismarck.
- David J. Grislis, 40, of Narragansett, R.I.
- Trevor Thomas Kalberer, 18, of Bismarck.
- Michael John Klostreich, 40, of Mandan.
- Jeffrey Ryan Lundstrom, 39, of Mandan.
- Scott Allen McGregor, 48, of Grand Forks.
- Brydon Jeffrey Peacock, 20, of Bismarck.
- David Mark Shepherd, 45, of Mandan.
- Bryce Patrick Slind, 22, of Ryder.
- Rodney J. Strobel, 46, of Denhoff.
- Mikhail I. Telega, 24, of Mandan.
- Zachary Raymond Turcotte, 37, of Little Canada, Minn.
- Steven Cory Unger, 25, of Bismarck.
- Victor Manuel Zavala, 40, of Bismarck.
Bismarck Police Sgt. Mark Buschena said each man responded by text message or telephone call to an online ad for an escort service then showed up at an agreed-upon meeting spot with money in hand to pay for sexual services. Buschena said police received 65 replies to the ad but, for logistical reasons, were only able to apprehend 17 of the responders.
Lundstrom was found guilty of soliciting prostitution last year. Unger was arrested in a previous sting operation in Montana in October for allegedly responding to an online ad offering sex with an underage girl in Glendive, according to a statement from the Montana Department of Justice. Unger was out of jail on bond in that case when he allegedly responded to the ad in Bismarck.
All 17 men are scheduled to be arraigned before Judge William Severin on March 12.
A similar sting operation was held by police in Grand Forks on Feb. 12, with between 30 and 40 men responding to an online ad for sex with an underage girl. Nine of the respondents were charged in that case.
