St. Paul man facing charges for criminal sexual conduct with teen in Albert Lea he met in online app
Published 11:26 am Monday, June 23, 2025
- Jorge Hernandez-Perez
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A 34-year-old St. Paul man is facing charges of criminal sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl after allegedly messaging her on an online app designated for teenagers and then meeting up with her on two occasions at an Albert Lea hotel and motel.
Jorge Hernandez-Perez faces two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, involving penetration, of a 15-year-old victim and seven counts of engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child.
According to court documents, local police were alerted after receiving information from a detective in Menomonie, Wisconsin, who was investigating a forcible criminal sexual conduct assault of a teenager Hernandez-Perez had met online. While investigating that assault, the Wisconsin detective identified that the suspect had messaged and solicited other teenage girls for sex, including one in Albert Lea.
The messages showed that he had met up with the Albert Lea teen on two separate occasions at two separate Albert Lea establishments, the first time at Holiday Inn Express in early September 2024 and the second time at Countryside Inn sometime in late September or early October 2024.
In an interview with an Albert Lea detective, the teenager stated she had met Hernandez-Perez on an app called Befriend and that then their conversation moved to Snapchat. She said her age is listed on the app.
In addition to the two occasions the sexual conduct occurred, the victim stated she and Hernandez-Perez had sent nude photos to each other.
Hernandez-Perez has a pending charge of second-degree assault in Wisconsin, where he traveled to meet up with a 15-year-old friend he met on the Befriend app. Reports also showed he was talking to an underage female, also 15, from Pennsylvania.
Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning set unconditional bail at $200,000 with conditional bail at $100,000. Conditions included no contact with anyone under 18, not leaving the state without written court approval and no possession of firearms, among others.