Rantz: Graphic sex fantasy led to false arrest for kidnapping, Tacoma police say

A woman was nearly kidnapped in Tacoma by a man who allegedly stalked her inside a Costco. But as police investigated the case, detectives said the story was the result of an elaborate sex fantasy gone awry. It lead to an innocent man being unnecessarily arrested and temporarily jailed. Now, the woman who was supposedly the victim is facing charges of malicious prosecution.

Allison Ford, 23, was exiting the Costco on Jan. 23 when a male in a black face mask grabbed her from behind the neck, knocking off her glasses. He allegedly told her, “don’t make a scene or you will get hurt,” according to Tacoma Police documents obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. The report said the unidentified man then tried to pull her into his parked car.

Before the alleged kidnapping could take place, a Costco customer intervened, asking Ford if she was ok. She said “no,” which is when the would-be kidnapper released her and drove off, according to the police documents. Ford then fled back to Costco to report the attempted, alleged abduction.

Tracking down the suspect

Ford provided a suspect description to the police and explained that Costco had surveillance footage of the incident. The footage indicated the suspected kidnapper “stalked” Ford in the Costco and matched the attempted kidnapping story that Ford described.

“The victim entered the store walking with a cane,” a detective writes in an incident report. “[A Costco employee] told me that she has a medical issue which requires the use of a cane. It is my opinion based on this that the suspect chose this victim due to her small stature and apparent disability as he assumed that she was a vulnerable victim.”

With surveillance of the suspect’s vehicle, police were able to identify him as E.P. The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH is choosing not to name the suspect since he was not charged in this case and appears to be troubled. The detective checked E.P.’s criminal history to find that he was investigated for sleeping with his 12-year-old sister when he was 13, but no charges were filed. At age 24, E.P. was investigated for possessing and showing child pornography to a minor. No charges were filed as the detective noted he deleted all the pictures before he was contacted by law enforcement. He also had an arrest for domestic violence, according to the police file.

Police made an arrest without incident, though they used a ruse to trick him into letting his guard down.

Interviewing the alleged kidnapper reveals dark thoughts

After the arrest, a detective met with Ford. She indicated she goes by the name Axel, with “he/them” pronouns, though police and charging documents identified her as a female.

Ford described in detail the alleged abduction, according to the incident report and interview with the detective, obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. She said she did not know the suspect.

When questioned by detectives, E.P. admitted to following Ford around the Costco, but “got this gut-wrenching feeling that I was tricked into accosting someone.” In fact, he said this wasn’t an actual alleged kidnapping, but a kinky sex fantasy set up on a dating website called “Whisper.”

He told the detective that the victim contacted him about a “consent/non-consent” fantasy, which the detective said “is a fetish for rape.” When Ford fought back in the parking lot, he said he thought he had been tricked into it.

The detective did not initially believe E.P., dismissing the claims as “him trying to create an alibi.” But then the story developed.

The proof is on the phone

The alleged suspect said he had screenshots of the conversation with Ford on his phone that proved this was a consensual fantasy. The detective asked to see the phone, but was rebuffed: E.P. refused to hand over the phone because “there are other things on that phone that I don’t want anyone to see.” Those included photos with his current partner.

“Is there anything else on your phone that I might see?” the detective asked.

E.P. responded, “I don’t know.”

“Are there pictures of children on the phone?” the detective asked.

“Not as far as I know,” E.P. replied.

“Not as far as you know? That doesn’t sound real confident to me,” the detective said.

E.P. said he felt like people were trying to ruin his life and implied that something could have been planted on his phone. He admitted, “I realize that sounds insane.”

The detective didn’t buy the story considering E.P. wouldn’t hand over the phone with the supposed evidence that would clear him.

“You think I’m a monster … because clearly I did something, I did something bad … I think all of my ex’s are right and I’m just a rapist,” he revealed.

The lie started to unravel

After more questioning, E.P. said the fantasy was to have forceful sex with Ford, but “I didn’t think I could go through with it.” He said he regretted falling for what he now thought was a “sting,” but didn’t know why he would be targeted. Then, he started to blame himself, calling himself “stupid” and that he deserved what happened to him.

According to police documents, the detective said he reluctantly called Ford to discuss the claims made by E.P.

“I was very concerned about having to do this, about the impression of victim blaming and retraumatizing the victim in this case,” he wrote. During the call, Ford admitting to once having an account on an app, but denied E.P.’s claims.

“I specifically told her that was good, because I don’t want to send somebody to prison for a long time if they didn’t do anything. She agreed with that sentiment, and I concluded the conversation,” the detective wrote.

The alleged confession

Nearly 20 minutes after the call, the detective said Ford called him and left a 45 second voice mail, obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

“I’m calling you back to … let you know that I’m coming off of being high right now. And, I remembered that, I completely forgot about the apps name, and I don’t know why that this slipped my mind … but … um … I um … I remembered that yes I did download Whisper recently, and I was like joking with someone on it, about something like that … but I never expected anyone to try and shove me in their car,” she said according to the recording.

When the detective called Ford back, he said she “admitted to me that she downloaded Whisper recently. She was ‘joking around’ and told somebody she wanted to be stalked. She admitted she told this person she was going to Costco, and she even sent this person a picture of the clothing she would be wearing so that this person could recognize her. She admitted that this person mentioned ‘CNC’ which she told me meant ‘consent/non-consent.’ She claimed that she only wanted this person to follow her around.”

The detective said Ford explained that she was “mortified that this happened and she did not think this person would take her serious.” She asked the detective if he could apologize to E.P. on her behalf.

Charges filed

The detective immediately contacted the jail to start the procedure to release E.P. He was told that E.P. was “currently on suicide watch” and that they’d have to coordinate a release with the mental health counselor.

The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed the case for nearly two months. This week, they finally charged Ford for malicious prosecution for causing another person to be arrested. Her hearing is scheduled for April 24 at 8:30 a.m. This charge can lead to up to 365 days in jail and/or a fine.

In a text message, Ford declined a request for comment for this story.

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