Man caught in sex stings in Minnesota, Florida accused of child rape in separate case

An Eden Prairie man who was caught in sex stings in both Minnesota and Florida has been accused of child rape in a separate case.

According to court documents, Michael Bruce Gillis, 34, was charged with soliciting a child for sexual conduct for an incident on Aug. 7, 2024.

The criminal complaint shows that police from Bloomington and multiple other agencies were working in an undercover detail by creating online personas on multiple social media platforms. One of the people who engaged in the operation was Gillis, who was texting with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old boy.

When the undercover officer told Gillis he was not 19 as his profile said, Gillis responded by saying, “Oh, that’s chill,” and continued to engage in conversation.

Court records say that Gillis talked about “experimenting and trying things out,” which led to Gillis saying he would meet the undercover officer in person. Gillis was arrested once he arrived at the location.

Gillis posted $65,000 bail and was released from custody, according to court documents. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on April 7.

Then, in October of 2024, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida was conducting a similar undercover operation, where detectives were working to find offenders who used the internet to sexually exploit children.

On Oct. 3, 2024, an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old boy received sexually explicit messages from Gillis, who was using an alias on the website.

As the communication continued over the next couple of days, the undercover officer provided Gillis with an address, who then ordered an Uber to get dropped off at the location, the criminal complaint states. When Gillis arrived at the address, he said he was apprehensive and got back in the Uber but was detained by authorities shortly after.

Gillis was released on bond and has a Florida court date for his multiple felony charges scheduled for March 25.

The most recent incident occurred on March 2, in which court documents say that Mounds View police were notified of a missing person.

A woman said that her 15-year-old nephew left the house and did not return for a few hours, the complaint says. The woman found her nephew’s iPad, where the nephew had been talking to Gillis, who was again using an alias and had been sending nude photographs.

Officers found that the 15-year-old was going to an address in Eden Prairie belonging to Gillis, according to court records.

Eden Prairie police found the victim and discovered communication between the two where Gillis offered to pay for an Uber to bring the 15-year-old to his house.

The victim told authorities that when he got to the house, Gillis was being “really creepy.” The 15-year-old said they went into Gillis’ bedroom, and Gillis sexually assaulted him, court documents state.

The complaint notes that the victim ran out of the house once Gillis fell asleep and added that Gillis asked the victim to help him cover up a different sexual assault.

Gillis was charged with one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor on Wednesday.

He is currently in custody at Hennepin County Jail, and his first court appearance for the child rape charge is scheduled for March 17.