Minnesota man caught in sex sting and accused of attempted bestiality pleads guilty to solicitation
A Sauk Centre, Minn., man has struck a plea deal in a 2022 case that says he met up with a police decoy posing as a 17-year-old girl in Woodbury so he could pay her to have sex with his 240-pound English mastiff dog named “Lincoln.”
Lee Adam Terro, 49, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to solicitation of someone under 18 for prostitution, a felony charge filed after he responded to an online advertisement by the East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force and set up a meeting with an undercover officer.
In exchange for the guilty plea, two other charges will be dismissed at his May 29 sentencing: gross misdemeanor attempted bestiality and misdemeanor cruelty-mistreatment of animals.
The agreement calls for a cap of 60 days in jail and a stay of imposition, meaning the felony conviction will be deemed a misdemeanor if Terro successfully follows terms of five years of probation.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Washington County District Court on Oct. 4, 2022:
Terro initiated a text conversation with the decoy on Sept. 20, saying he wanted the girl to have sexual intercourse with his dog while he watched and masturbated. Twice the decoy told Terro she was 17 years old, which he acknowledged.
Terro agreed to pay the decoy $350 to watch and an extra $50 to film the sexual encounter. Over the course of several days, Terro “vividly described” in texts “the process of how his dog would have sexual intercourse,” the complaint states. He said it would last anywhere between a half-hour and an hour.
Terro sent the decoy several links to bestiality websites that showed dogs having sex with people. He said he would bring the decoy flavored vodka.
Officers were in Sauk Centre when Terro left his home for the Oct. 2 meet-up. They followed him for 120 miles until he got to the gas station, when he was arrested.
In his car, officers found Lincoln, along with $400 and a bottle of flavored vodka. Officers seized Terro’s cellphone and recovered the text message string between him and the decoy.
In an interview with police, Terro admitted to searching for a commercial sex ad, communicating with someone who he believed was a 17-year-old girl and arranging the meeting, charges say. He said that once he arrived at the gas station, he planned to cancel the meeting.
Lincoln was seized by the task force and handed over to the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury, according to court documents.
‘Sex act’
Terro has been out of jail since posting a $25,000 bond two days after his arrest. He appeared before Judge Juanita Freeman with his attorney, Max Keller.
“What did you agree to do, sir?” Freeman asked.
“Agreed to meet her in exchange for money for sexual … ” Terro said with his voice trailing off.
“Some sort of sex act?” the judge asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
“That was after you learned she was 17 years old,” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
The judge agreed that Terro’s independent psycho-sexual examination will suffice as part of a pre-sentence investigation.
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