ICE employee caught in Bloomington sting charged with trying to coerce minor

A civil employee of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now facing a federal criminal charge for trying to coerce a minor.

Bloomington police arrested 41-year-old Alexander Steven Back earlier this month in a solicitation and sex trafficking sting known as “Operation Creep.”

As part of that operation, which resulted in 16 arrests, officers posed as 17-year-old girls and posted advertisements on websites that law enforcement say are known to facilitate human trafficking.

RELATED: Bloomington police arrest 16 men in ‘Creep’ sex solicitation sting

Charging documents state that a number associated with Back responded to one of the advertisements on Nov. 13, asking to set up a time around 3:30 and saying he was 38 years old. When the undercover officer replied to Back that the girl advertised is 17, Back replied, “I’m not going to be mad at you.”

Later, the officer again messaged back about being 17. He replied, “Are you with the cops?” but then added “im chill” and proceeded to show up at the meeting point. He was quickly arrested when he showed up, and officers found the phone that texted the undercover officer in his possession.

When officers tried to interview him, he stated, “I don’t really know if there is anything to say. It’s all there in the texts.”

Back is currently out on bond.
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