Investigators allege Rees began communicating online with undercover detectives in May, believing he was speaking with a mother willing to facilitate the sexual abuse of her underage daughter.
A Washington state man has been charged after authorities say he attempted to pay what he believed was the mother of a juvenile girl $1,000 in exchange for having sex with the child and impregnating her.
Michael A. Rees, 34, of Port Orchard, was arrested June 25 after an undercover child exploitation investigation conducted by the Washington State Patrol's Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF) in partnership with the FBI.
Investigators allege Rees began communicating online with undercover detectives in May, believing he was speaking with a mother willing to facilitate the sexual abuse of her underage daughter. During those conversations, authorities say Rees expressed his desire to impregnate the child and agreed to pay the supposed mother $1,000.
According to documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Rees later arranged to meet the purported mother and daughter at a Tacoma hotel on June 25. Detectives and FBI agents arrested him as he entered the hotel before any child could be harmed.
Rees was booked into the Pierce County Jail and faces charges of attempted second-degree rape of a child, attempted commercial sex abuse of a minor, and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. His bail has been set at $250,000.
Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said the investigation underscores the importance of undercover operations targeting child predators before they can reach potential victims. "This case demonstrates the troubling necessity for our undercover efforts and highlights some of the most destructive environments we encounter in law enforcement," Batiste said.
"I am grateful for the men and women of this unit, along with our partner agencies, whose personal courage, professional expertise, and unwavering determination help protect the children of our state in an often-dangerous world."
The Missing and Exploited Children Task Force is a multi-agency unit that investigates online child exploitation, human trafficking, and crimes against children throughout Washington. It frequently conducts undercover operations in which investigators pose as minors or adults seeking to facilitate access to children to identify and arrest suspects before abuse occurs.
Authorities are asking anyone who believes they may have had contact with Rees or who has information relevant to the investigation to contact the MECTF at MECTF@wsp.wa.gov.
Earlier this year, several Washington Senate Democrats introduced Senate Bill 5312, legislation that would have reduced penalties for certain offenders convicted in undercover "Net Nanny" child exploitation stings involving fictitious minors. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Lisa Wellman (D–Mercer Island) and co-sponsored by Sens. Noel Frame (D–Seattle), T'wina Nobles (D–Fircrest), and Claire Wilson (D–Federal Way). The bill argued that offenders caught in cases involving undercover officers rather than actual children should be treated differently for sentencing and registration purposes.
SB 5312 would have reduced the required sex offender registration period to five years for qualifying first-time offenders and shortened community supervision to three years for certain defendants convicted in these undercover operations. Supporters contended that the offenses involved fictitious minors rather than actual child victims and that existing registration and supervision requirements were disproportionately severe in those cases. The proposal drew significant criticism from law enforcement advocates and ultimately failed to advance out of committee, leaving Washington's existing sentencing laws unchanged.
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