On March 14th, Detective Ueland with the Cottage Grove Police Department was informed by Special Agent Drenson of Homeland Security that Travis Guenther, had been arrested in North Dakota for Luring Minors by Computers. During the investigation, Guenther had sexually explicit images of a juvenile female on his computer. Guenther told investigators that the juvenile was the daughter of Roxanne Louise Merrell, of Cottage Grove . Guenther informed officers that the child was approximately 8 or 9 years old at the time of the photos. That same day, investigators with Homeland Security and the Cottage Grove Police Department executed a search warrant at Merrell’s home in Cottage Grove. She gave a statement in which she admitted that Guenther offered her money in exchange for photos of her daughter. Merrell admitted to taking the explicit photos while her daughter was sleeping. Merrell stated that she was desperate for money at the time and Guenther had offered her $5,000 for the photos. Washington County Attorney, Pete Orput, talks about the incident.
