Six of the nine men accused of soliciting in prostitution in a public place made an appearance in Carlton County Court Wednesday. The men were arrested June 29, following a year-long, multi-agency investigation and sting operation conducted in Cloquet after authorities received information that individuals had been seeking prostitution for hire via the Internet. Each faces one gross misdemeanor count of hiring, offering or agreeing to hire to engage in prostitution in a public place.

(Hardly seems worth a year-long investigation.)

Three of them received pretty good fines:

"Three of the men entered into plea agreements in return for a one-year stay of imposition and one year of unsupervised probation, along with a $1,500 fine, a $250 penalty and $85 in court fees."

It is possible the fines would have been less if the men had pled guilty. If the stay of imposition keeps the charges from showing up on their permanent records it is probably worth the extra cash.