Twin Cities resident Troy Alvin Wagner, 51, has pleaded guilty in an undercover Rochester investigation that targeted people seeking sexual contact with minors. Court records show he admitted to electronically describing sexual conduct with what he believed was a 14-year-old, with a judge set to hear sentencing arguments in August 2026.
Wagner was arrested in late October 2025 after he showed up at a Rochester park to meet an undercover officer posing online as a 14-year-old. According to the complaint, officers found pillows and blankets in the back of his vehicle, along with incriminating chats on his phone. The filing traces almost-daily messages beginning in August 2025, and says the exchanges turned sexual in mid-October as Wagner talked about meeting in person.
Under a plea agreement filed this week, Wagner admitted to one count of "engaging in electronic communication describing sexual conduct with a child." In return, the state dismissed a soliciting charge, and the deal calls for a 15-month stayed prison sentence, a 10-year predatory-offender registration requirement, and the possibility that the conviction could be converted to a misdemeanor if he successfully completes the sentence, according to the Wagner complaint.
What the law says
Minnesota criminal law bars soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct and includes specific provisions for using electronic communications to describe or arrange sexual contact with a minor. Those offenses are set out in Minn. Stat. §609.352, which spells out the elements of solicitation and electronic-communication crimes involving children.
A conviction under these sections can also trigger predatory-offender registration under Minn. Stat. §243.166. That statute governs how long someone must remain registered and what kind of notification and reporting rules apply to people convicted of qualifying offenses.
Rochester's undercover work, and what comes next
Rochester police have been running similar proactive undercover operations in recent months, and previous cases in the region have ended in plea deals that mixed probation, short stints in jail, and predatory-offender registration. One example is an Owatonna man arrested in the same sting who later entered a plea and was sentenced under terms reported by KROC-AM.
Wagner will be formally sentenced in August 2026, when the court will weigh the plea recommendation alongside any arguments from prosecutors and any victim-impact input. For now, the plea calls for a stayed prison term rather than immediate prison time, with registration requirements attached.
The case will remain on the Olmsted County docket until sentencing. Court filings from the complaint and plea agreement form the backbone of the charges and the recommended sentence, and the public file will ultimately show whether the conviction is converted to a misdemeanor after Wagner completes his sentence.
