Joshua Serafin mugshot

(Windom, MN) – A Winnebago man who was busted during an online predator sting has been sentenced to probation.

Joshua Anthony Serafin, 25, was sentenced in Faribault County Court Monday.  In a Petition to Enter a Plea of Guilty filed in July, Serafin agreed to plead guilty to a charged of felony distribution of sexual conduct to a child via electronic communication.  A second charge of the same was dismissed as part of the plea deal.  A charge of felony child electronic solicitation of a child was also dismissed.

District Court Judge Troy G. Timmerman sentenced Serafin to three years of supervised probation and 30 days in the Faribault County Jail.  Serafin will be given credit for four days already served, and is eligible to serve his jail time on work release.  If he successfully completes probation, his conviction will be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Court documents say Serafin began a conversation on a dating site with someone he believed to be 15-years-old in February 2019.

Serafin sent the “girl” several messages that were sexual in nature, saying he was looking for a mistress and someone who could sexually please him.  Police say Serafin sent a photo of his erect penis to the supposed teen and asked her to send explicit photos in return.   According to the criminal complaint, he asked during the conversation if the girl had ever experienced oral sex and whether she would let him perform it on her.

In March 2019, Serafin attempted to turn the online relationship into an in-person sexual encounter.  In April, investigators acting as the 15-year-old girl again reached out to Serafin, who arranged a meeting, saying he would teach and perform oral, but didn’t like condoms.

Investigators arranged a meeting between the decoy teen and Serafin at Fairmont High School, where he was identified and arrested.

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