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A Mankato man who pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual conversations with someone he thought was a child online during an undercover sting operation in 2023 was sentenced Friday to five years of probation and a stayed prison sentence in the case.

Roger Myron Yarger, 58, received credit for 302 days already spent in the Freeborn County jail.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, stayed for five years, meaning he will not have to serve the prison time unless he violates his probation.

Yarger 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. He pleaded guilty in July to the first count as part of a plea agreement, 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.   

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 reportedly said multiple times he wanted to continue talking and in the future meet up to have sexual intercourse.

As part of his sentence, Yarger is also required to attend a sex offender program, not use or possess any pornographic or sexually explicit material and not enter places where any sexual materials are available, including strip clubs or adult bookstores.

He can have no contact with vulnerable adults and have no contact with anyone under 18, unless approved in writing by his agent or therapist.

He also must disclose all electronic devices to his agent, which will be subject to monitoring software, and not access or use the Internet without approval, among several other conditions.

He also faces charges of child pornography in Blue Earth County.