Elko Man Charged After Meeting Teenage Prostitutes at Eagan Hotel

An Elko man is accused of paying two teenager prostitutes—one of them a runaway—for sex in an Eagan hotel room.

Mickey Albert Cupkie, 35, was charged with four counts of engaging in prostitution with a minor, according to charges filed last week in Ramsey County District Court. If convicted on one count, Cupkie could face a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

While trying to track down a 16-year-old runaway, police spoke with a 17-year-old girl, who told an investigator that she and the other teen had been forced by their pimp to prostitute themselves at an Eagan hotel on May 9.

Police found an advertisement on Backpages.com that included unclothed photos of the girls and the phone number of the 16-year-old. An investigator also reviewed surveillance footage from the hotel, which showed the girls meeting a man outside the hotel. Phone records from the 16-year-old's phone contained a series of calls from a specific number, as well as text messages from that number that were sexual in nature, police said.

Police used the footage and phone records to identify Cupkie, who was arrested on June 19.

Under questioning, police say Cupkie said it "was possible" that he had used Backpages.com to contact the two girls and that it "was possible" they met at a hotel in Eagan. Police say Cupkie also admitted that he had performed oral sex on the 16-year-old, and that the older girl had touched him sexually.

Cupkie allegedly admitted to police that he told both girls he believed they were too young to be engaged in prostitution.

In a press release dated June 21, Ramsey County Attorney John Choi took aim at Backpages.com. The site—run by Village Voice Media—recently came under fire from advocacy groups and authorities who want the company to shutter its adult services section.

“I also repeat my call for Village Voice Media to shut down the adult section of its online classified site, Backpage.com, because it serves as a platform to traffic minors for sex as it was in this case," Choi wrote. "By its acts and omissions, Backpage.com is encouraging, causing and contributing children in our community to be in need of protective services.”