Man charged with sex trafficking at St. Paul hotel

A man has been charged with alleged human trafficking in St. Paul.

Court documents show Miao Lin, 40, faces one count of engaging in sex trafficking. If convicted, Lin faces up to 15 years in prison.

According to a criminal complaint, on Thursday, police responded to a Days Inn in St. Paul on a sex trafficking report. There, police found Lin. Investigators found an online sex ad featuring Asian women listing the University Avenue address. Police texted the number using an undercover phone to set up a meeting time.

Authorities found Lin at the hotel carrying a bag filled with empty condom wrappers. The complaint goes on to state police spoke with two women inside the hotel. One of the women noted, "a bad person was making her do this."

Upon further investigation, investigators found Lin's Chinese passport and $19,680 in cash in the women's purses. Police also found that the meetings were being set up off-site, not at the hotel.

Both women said they checked into the hotel Feb. 2.

Lin will make his first court appearance on Wednesday.