A Maple Grove man received a year-long jail sentence after being convicted of responding to a 16-year-old girl’s online ad offering to exchange sex for money.
Corwin Thomas Moose, 44, contacted a Cottage Grove teenager after she placed an ad on Backpage.com in August 2015. The girl told police she was in
desperate need of money and that through the ad she met a heavyset man, weighing as much as 400 pounds, and had sex with him in her home for $80, according to a criminal complaint.
The man also took nude pictures of her, the complaint said. The Minneapolis Crimes Against Children unit contacted the girl after seeing the ad, and with the teen’s permission, an investigator posed as the victim and exchanged 164 text messages with Moose in a 24-hour period, according to the complaint. Moose agreed to meet with the girl every other week and give her $100 in exchange for sex, the complaint said. Moose initially wanted to meet at the girl’s home again, but he changed his mind when he found out she was not yet 18 years old, the complaint said. Instead, Moose agreed to pick the girl up at a Cottage Grove gas station and go to his home, the complaint said.
Police arrested Moose at the gas station on Oct. 1, 2015, according to the complaint. The complaint said police found a large empty suitcase, rubber gloves and a new tarp lining the trunk in Moose’s vehicle. Police also found nude pictures on Moose’s cellphone, the complaint said.
Moose pleaded guilty in Washington County District Court to engaging in prostitution with a minor, using a minor in a sexual performance or in pornography and possessing pornography in an electronic image.
In addition to the jail sentence, Moose will be on probation for five years and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children unless approved by the court, probation officer or sex offender therapist.