Two men arrested at Rochester Hills hotel following sex sting

ROCHESTER HILLS — Two men were arrested at a Rochester Hills hotel for allegedly attempting to meet up with a minor as part of a sex sting orchestrated by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said the two men allegedly attempted to meet up with a 15-year-old decoy for sexual acts at the hotel June 1 and were arrested on unrelated solicitations.

Jeremy Stewart Coder, 28, of Shelby Township, and Kevin Brian Deilser, 59, of Clio, were both arraigned June 4 in 52-1 District Court in Novi. They each face four felony charges: child sexually abusive material, punishable by up to 20 years and/or a $100,000 fine; using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by 20 years or life; accosting children for immoral purposes, punishable by four years and/or a $4,000 fine; and using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by 4-10 years.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office’s Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team, used investigative techniques known to catch the attention of would-be solicitors. Almost immediately, deputies said, hundreds of people from all over the country engaged with the fictitious 15-year-old to express interest.

Coder and Deilser both showed up at the motel and were arrested June 1. Police said they both made incriminating statements after their arrests, admitting to their attempts to have sex with a person they thought was a minor.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he is proud of the Sheriff’s Office team and the partnership with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office that resulted in the arrest of two individuals who “were seeking to violate someone they thought was a 15-year-old child.”

“We intend to conduct more of these stings in the future. The message should be clear that if you target children, we will target you,” Bouchard said in a statement.

The men were both released June 6 after posting their $75,000 bonds. Deputies said they will each be monitored by an electronic tether and were ordered to have no contact with children or use the internet.

A probable cause conference is set for both men on June 13 in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills.

At press time, Coder’s attorney, Karen Macdonald Lopez, said she was denied the right to appear at her client’s arraignment, but noted that her client pleaded not guilty. 

“I do not have a copy of the charges. He hasn’t been given a copy of the charges. We don’t have the police report. The investigation is still open, so we have nothing,” she said. “I understand it was a very aggressive sting operation. I haven’t accessed the facts yet because I don’t have anything. … It’s not fair; I know that. It’s not fair to the defendant. It’s not fair to picture him with this other man he has no knowledge of, never knew him, never saw him, never had any communication with him, and he was thrown into a jail cell with him.”

Lopez said her client was also unaware of any 15-year-old. 

“He absolutely denies that, and if that is what they are saying, I’m very anxious to read the police report to see how they set this up, because he had no knowledge of a 15-year-old being involved. He would never, ever solicit a minor. Based on what my client has told me, he’s the one that has been solicited and trapped in this sting operation,” she said.

Deilser did not have an attorney on file at press time.