Mukilteo sex offender arrested in Internet sting

Published 2:42 pm Monday, October 1, 2007

MUKILTEO – A registered sex offender who thought he was going to meet a 12-year-old boy whom he had talked with over the Internet was jailed Friday when the boy turned out to be a Snohomish County sheriff’s detective.

The man, 44, of Mukilteo, exchanged several sexually explicit e-mails with what he thought was the boy, Mukilteo police said. The man is a Level 1 registered sex offender.

Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives had created the Internet profile after receiving a tip that the man had responded to a similar profile set up by a police officer on the East Coast.

When the man arranged a date to meet the boy in person Friday, he was arrested by Mukilteo police and Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives.

The man was booked for investigation of second-degree attempted rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. He was being held on $50,000 bail.