Three central Montana men from small towns face child sex crime charges after allegedly responding to an Internet sting operation conducted by the Great Falls Police Department on Wednesday.
Frederick Day, 34, of Cascade, and Aren Lindquist, 24, of Craig were charged Thursday with attempted prostitution in Cascade County District Court after allegedly agreeing separately to pay for sex acts with a 15-year-old girl.
On Tuesday, another man, 59-year-old Curtis Aaberg of Valier was arrested in the same sting operation Tuesday after allegedly trying to pay for sex with a 12-year-old. He is also charged with attempted prostitution.
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According to charging documents, officers working with the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force ran an operation structured similarly to the “To Catch a Predator” television program, posting ads on Backpage.com soliciting people interested in sexually explicit conduct with a minor child.
After making contact with people who responded to the advertisement via phone, undercover officers informed them that 12-year-old and 15-year-old girls were available and asked them to meet at a Great Falls motel. At the motel, an undercover officer met the men and negotiated a price.
Day allegedly agreed to pay $200 to commit a sex act with the fictitious 15-year-old. Lindquist allegedly provided an undercover officer with $160 for a planned sex act with the fictitious 15-year-old. Aaberg allegedly attempted to pay $200 for several sex acts with the fictitious 12-year-old.
Each man was arrested after the sex act was stated and money exchanged, court documents say.
Aaberg, a Valier business owner, made his initial court appearance Wednesday. Day and Lindquist were set to make theirs Thursday afternoon.
Under state law, paying for a sex act or agreeing to pay for a sex act with a child when an offender is over 18 years of age carries a mandatory 25-year prison sentence, with an additional 75 years to be served in prison or on probation.
