Two from area charged in Clear Lake prostitution arrests

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Two area men were among nine people arrested last week in Clear Lake on charges of soliciting prostitution or prostitution.

Brian Bruton, 48, of Charles City, and Brian Cole, 55, of Nashua, were both charged with soliciting prostitution.

They were both released from custody after posting $2,000 bonds. Bruton is being represented by attorney Roger Sutton of Charles City, and Cole is being represented by attorney Richard Tompkins Jr. of Mason City.

According to the criminal complaints filed in Cerro Gordo County District Court, each of the men “did purchase or offer to purchase sexual services from an undercover officer as a partner in a sex act” at a Clear Lake motel.

A total of seven men and two women were arrested Wednesday in what Clear Lake authorities described as “a stance against human trafficking and to show that we have zero tolerance for such activities in our area,” according to a press release from the Clear Lake Police Department.

The others arrested were Steven Menke, 61, of Bancroft; Phillip Bishop, 65, of Mason City; Scott Biernbaum, 48, of Clear Lake; and Chad Sovanski, 47, of Milan, Illinois; each charged with solicitation of prostitution.

Jeramie Hagen, 42, of Crystal Lake, was charged with solicitation of prostitution and delivery of a controlled substance.

Mallory Wiese, 26, of Mason City, and Ashley Kelly, 22, of Midland, Alabama, were both charged with prostitution.

They were all initially transported to the Cerro Gordo County Jail.

The charges are aggravated misdemeanors, punishable upon conviction by up to two years in jail or prison, a $625 to $6,250 fine and other court surcharges and fees.

Conviction of the solicitation of prostitution charges also carries an additional human trafficking victim surcharge of $1,000.

The Clear Lake Police Department was assisted by the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the Mason City Police Department and the North Central Iowa Drug Task Force, according to a press release from the Clear Lake department.