Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A Rochester man was formally charged Monday with sending sex-related texts to a 14-year-old girl.

The girl met with police in October after receiving multiple sexually explicit messages from 23-year-old Zachary Cruse. The teen told investigators she was “being sexually solicited by a patron” of a gym where she worked.

According to the criminal complaint, Cruse admitted to sending the texts after evidence was found on his phone.

The complaint says Cruse told an investigator that he recalled that the victim had told him her age but “he did not want to believe she was only 14-years-old, instead choosing to believe she was 17 or 18.”

He was arraigned Monday on a felony charge and ordered to appear for his first court hearing April 2nd.

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