ST. CLOUD -- A former St. Cloud State University employee has been found guilty in a prostitution sting involving what he believed was a 17-year-old girl.

A Stearns County jury deliberated for about an hour Tuesday before convicting 54-year-old Kevin Barnes on a felony count of soliciting a prostitute under the age of 18 and a misdemeanor count of soliciting prostitution.

According to the charging complaint, Barnes responded to an ad on backpage.com last March which was offering sex with a 22-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl.

Undercover officers were acting as the women through several text messages with Barnes, who agreed to pay $150 for an hour of sexual intercourse. He agreed to meet at an apartment unit in the 1400 block of 12th Avenue North in Waite Park.

Police arrested Barnes at the scene. They say he had a large amount of cash and condoms on him at the time of his arrest.

Barnes worked in SCSU's billing and payments department.  He resigned May 19th, 2016 and is no longer employed by the university.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 23rd.

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