Middle school employee charged with prostitution after human trafficking sting

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - An employee of the Anderson United Middle School within Minneapolis Public Schools has been charged with promoting the prostitution of another after police say he coordinated ads on websites for sexual services.

MPS employee prostitution charges

What we know:

Todd James Wallace, 48, of Shoreview, faces charges after special agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigator’s Task Force began an undercover operation involving commercial sex ads posted on Adultlook.com between February 2026 to April 2026.

Charges say that investigators located an ad for "Willow" and on April 28, 2026, an undercover agent chatted with the phone number provided.

According to the charges, an agent attempted to schedule an appointment for various "services" provided and was told to go to a private residence located in Minneapolis.

Approximately an hour later, the agent received a text message demanding the agent pay a "cancellation fee" of $50, with the person threatening, "I will find you. That’s not a question. Only question is if im going to involve your work or family to!" if they didn’t pay by 12 p.m.

The agent requested a Venmo account to pay, and the person replied with the username "@Todd-wallace-88," charges state.

Dig deeper:

As the investigation continued, agents found the same phone number on another ad for a "Cheyenne," again threatening the agent via text if they did not pay for a cancellation, with the wording nearly identically referencing both work and family.

Task force agents then executed a search warrant at the address in Minneapolis, where they came in contact with one victim, who identified the person who made the ads and handled communication as Wallace.  Charges state she also explained that Wallace paid her 50% of all client fees for performing sex acts, and she knew of at least one more victim that has a similar arrangement with Wallace.

According to charges, investigators also later uncovered a sex trafficking ad on Craigslist, whose poster later identified himself as "James."

Upon his arrest, authorities learned that Wallace was employed by Anderson United Middle School.

What they're saying:

When contacted by FOX 9, MPS officials said they would not comment on specific personnel matters, but confirmed that as of May 4, 2026, Wallace was still employed by the district.

What's next:

Wallace is currently in custody, with a hearing scheduled for May 28, 2026.