A 46-year-old Kent man faces charges of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and communication with a minor for immoral purposes after he allegedly agreed to meet with a 15-year-old girl for sex.
Arcadio Alcaraz is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. May 5 in the GA Courtroom at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
While Alcaraz believed he was communicating with an actual girl on Skout, a social networking and dating app, it was actually a Kent Police officer posing as a teen, according to charging papers filed April 21 by prosecutors. The site is known as a platform for prostitution activity as well as sexual exploitation of children/minors, according to law enforcement agencies.
Police created a profile of an 18-year-old woman because due to the app’s rules you must be at least 18 to chat with members 18 or older. The goal was to be contacted by suspects looking for sexual contact and then advise them that she was under 18.
Alcaraz reportedly first reached out on Oct. 10, 2019. He reportedly began to chat with the teen and sent her photos of his erect penis. The officer posing as the teen then told him her Skout app was malfunctioning and sent him her phone number.
The two then began to communicate by text message. The officer posing as the teen texted she was just 15 years old. The age of consent in the state is 16.
The officer got a search warrant in April 2020 for Alcaraz’s phone number. The warrant returned the text messages the officer posing as a teen and Alcaraz had exchanged.
Communication between the two began again in December 2020. Alcaraz reportedly sent about 153 explicit messages and about 148 photographs of his erect penis between October 2019 and December 2020. On Nov. 19, 2020 he allegedly agreed to pay $200 for an hour of sex with no condom with what he believed was a 15-year-old girl.
The officer tried to meet with Alcaraz several times but due to scheduling conflicts they were unable to meet in person.
Based on the evidence, Kent Police arrested Alcaraz Dec. 9, 2020. The case was referred to prosecutors in early April and charges were filed.
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