Fake Seattle sex sting leads to real arrests
Dec 18, 2012, 4:43 PM | Updated: Dec 19, 2012, 8:58 am
A fake sex sting led to real arrests at a Seattle hotel on Monday.
It happened when a 19-year-old showed up at the Hotel Five, responding to a Craigslist ad offering sex with a 14-year-old girl.
But all he found in the room was a 28-year-old guy. The guy pretended to be a federal agent and handcuffed and robbed him, according to Seattle Police detective Renee Witt.
“He was robbed for $191 in cash and a pair of sunglasses,” Witt says.
When the cops were called, the 19-year-old claimed he had merely been trying to buy video games when he was robbed.
Officers tracked down the suspect in the hotel and arrested him, thinking they were just investigating a robbery. But the 28-year-old told police he had posted a fake online ad on Craigslist offering up sex with an underage girl.
He was busted for extortion and unlawful imprisonment. Police also arrested the teenager when he admitted he had gone to the hotel to hook up with a girl, although he claimed he believed she was 18.
Detectives continue to investigate.
KIRO Radio’s Brandi Kruse contributed to this report.
