July 7, 2021
Pierce County – As part of a collaborative multi-jurisdictional effort, 2 people were arrested June 29th for alleged crimes against children and human trafficking related crimes. A Tukwila man that was arrested this past January in a similar type operation in Pierce County was arrested again in Tacoma.
The latest arrest occurred when he arrived at a location where he arranged to meet and allegedly attempted to have sex with two children ages 10 and 12. In the previous operation, he arrived at a location to allegedly have sex with a 13 year old. This person had no criminal record before the first arrest in January of this year.
The second arrest was for a subject that transported an 18 year old female to a location to allegedly be paid for sexual favors. He was charged with Promoting Prostitution 2nd Degree. The female was not charged, and was offered advocacy services before being released. She was previously contacted in a similar situation two years ago when she was 16.
WSP Chief John R. Batiste said, “Sexual crimes against children are often committed by people with no previous criminal record. Sadly, they have been able to offend without detection for too long so stopping them as soon as we possibly can is important to the safety of all children. The WSP’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF) is one way we can help protect children that are at risk of being victimized.”
MECTF’s primary mission is to proactively target those persons involved in child abuse and child exploitation via the internet. Captain Mike Edwards, Seattle Police Department and the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Commander stated, “The hard work by the dedicated professionals to locate and arrest individuals whose sole purpose was to cause harm to children is a testament to their commitment to diligently serve the public in their efforts to protect the children of our state. The Washington State ICAC Task Force (WA ICAC TF) is founded on these principals and we are privileged to have these dedicated public servants working on all of our behalf. The work does not end now that this operation is over but rather it encourages all members of the WA ICAC TF to continue the extremely difficult but necessary work that is being done each and every day.”
The collaborative effort involving more than 20 dedicated law enforcement officers, agents and staff led to the success of this operation. Those agencies involved include:
- Seattle Police Department
- Tacoma Police Department
- Washington State Patrol
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Homeland Security Investigations
NOTE: The aims of MECTF are shared by many citizens who sometimes wish to support the efforts of the task force. It is a state law enforcement agency governed by RCW 13.60.110, and not designated as a 501 (c)(3) charity. All donations made to MECTF go directly to MECTF and are used explicitly in the identification and safe recovery of exploited children, the investigation of those exploiting children, and successful apprehension and prosecution thereof. Please consult with your tax professional or the Internal Revenue Service to determine if your donation is tax exempt. To donate and support MECTF, please visit http:/www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/mectf/
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