A 34-year-old man was charged Thursday with prostituting a 17-year-old girl out of a Roseville hotel for several weeks after an inquisitive manager found the teenager's services being advertised on the Internet.

Samuel Cozart, of Columbia Heights, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with promotion of prostitution.

"The problem of our children being sexually exploited is growing throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area, including our suburban communities," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said. "I applaud the employee at the hotel for doing the right thing by acting on her suspicions and calling the police."

Cozart was jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail. His criminal history includes arrests in several states for armed robbery, illicit drugs, counterfeiting, drunken driving and theft, the charging document read.

According to the criminal complaint, a manager at the Days Inn at 2550 N. Cleveland Av. called police on suspicion that a patron was prostituting a teenage girl.

The manager said she checked the Internet for Cozart's name and discovered an escort service known as M.A. Entertainment on www.backpage.com that featured the girl.

Police arrested Cozart and determined that the girl had been selling herself in exchange for money and methamphetamine. The officers also discovered that Cozart and the girl were on the way to visit a john in the Litchfield, Minn., area when police arrived.

At that point, the girl asked the officers to help her.

PAUL WALSH