On March 20, 2026, the East Metro Human Trafficking Task Force created an undercover account on the KIK messaging application. KIK is a free messaging app that lets users communicate with usernames rather than phone numbers. Due to the anonymity features, KIK has been associated with various youth safety concerns, including cyberbullying, grooming, and the exploitation of minors. The undercover (UC) account was designed to depict a 15-year-old female. All communications by the UC were conducted in Washington County, Minnesota.
On March 25, 2026, a message was sent to the undercover account by a user with the handle midwestguy0303. Midwestguy0303 wrote, "Hey sexy asl?" and almost immediately sent a video of a man holding an erect penis. Midwestguy0303 asked for a picture of the UC and sent another picture of an erect penis and said, "think you could handle this cock?" After asking the UC again for pictures, the UC responded, "I'm a little younger, 15, but you would never know. I'm mature." Midwestguy0303 responded, "Mmm good thing im not much older.
Show me that ass baby. I love a good ass to bury my face into." Midwestguy0303 told the UC that he was 17 years old and sent another picture of an erect penis. Midwestguy0303 continues to ask for pictures of the UC. Later in the conversation, Midwestguy0303 vividly describes digitally penetrating, and having the UC perform oral sex on him, and finally sexual intercourse. Between March 24, 2026, and March 26, 2026, Midwestguy0303 exchanged 523 chat messages with others and exchanged 78 media files.
One image depicted a male and a female together engaging in sexual penetration. Officers used facial recognition on the photo and identified the female as victim [NAME REDACTED] and the male as M. S. Officers talked with N. H., who stated that her husband had a KIK account. N. H. Confirmed that three nude images used by Midwestguy0303 were of her. N. H. Stated that she had no knowledge the photos were being disseminated but believed her husband shared the photos online. N. H. Stated that they were exploring the swinger community and remembered chatting with a user Midwestguy0303. N. H. Later confirmed that her husband sent the photos to Midwestguy0303. On May 13, 2026, offices created a different UC profile on KIK. This profile was created to depict a 15- year-old boy.
On May 13, 2026, the UC received a photo of an erect penis from Midwestguy0303. The UC responded that he was a 15 year old male. Midwestguy0303 immediately asked for picture of the UC's "big cock," and stated he was trying to figure out if he like "the idea of sucking cock more than actually doing it. You should lemme see your big cock." Midwestguy0303 then described having oral sex with the UC and repeatedly asked for pictures. Officers executed a search warrant on KIK and found that Midwestguy0303 was registered using the email address [email redacted]. Officers reviewed other chats Midwestguy0303 had with other KIK users where he described himself as a 35-year-old male with a 31-year-old wife living in Wisconsin or in the White Bear Lake area.