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A New Ulm man pleaded guilty Monday in Freeborn County District Court to engaging in sexual conversations with a child online tied to an undercover sting operation by a Freeborn County detective last fall.

Roger Myron Yarger, 58, initially faced two counts: one for engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child and one for distributing via electronic communication material that relates or describes sexual conduct with a child.

As part of a plea agreement, Yarger pleaded guilty to the first count, and the second count was dismissed.

Court documents state the messages started online in the beginning of November 2023 on a website known to facilitate sexual encounters between juveniles and adults and later moved to text messages.

Court documents states the detective was viewing classified ads on the site and encountered an ad of interest by Yarger titled “Boy toy for older?” The ad went on to describe activity he wanted to engage in and even stated he could host depending on when.

The detective had a previous account portraying a 13-year-old male with the website from previous undercover investigations with internet crimes against children and responded to the ad, early on describing the individual as a 13-year-old male from Owatonna.

The conversation quickly turned sexual, and at various points Yarger allegedly asked who he thought was the boy if he would engage in sexual activity if they lived closer to each other.

The conversation at one point changes to text messages, where Yarger allegedly asked for a photo of the boy and then reportedly sent a sexual photo of himself. Yarger then allegedly asked for inappropriate pictures of the boy, to which the detective posing as the boy stated he would not send inappropriate photos.

Yarger also reportedly looked up how much it would cost for the boy to take a taxi to his house.

Court records state through multiple conversations, Yarger admitted to knowing the boy is 13 and that they needed to be careful because they could get in trouble. He allegedly said multiple times he wanted to continue talking and in the future meet up to have sexual intercourse.

Sentencing is slated for Nov. 15.

Yarger also faces charges of possession of child pornography in Blue Earth County.