Pierce County man pleads not guilty after being caught in child sex sting

A Pierce County man appeared in court Thursday after he was reportedly caught in a child sex sting.

Randy Lee Young, 40, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with attempted enticement of a minor and production of images of child sexual abuse, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

The attorney’s office stated Young was arrested in November after allegedly meeting up with who he thought was a mother providing her daughters for sexual assaults. Young, according to records filed in the case, began communicating with law enforcement who was posing as the mother of 8 and 11-year-old girls, between November 8 and 15.

Young allegedly texted law enforcement multiple times and ultimately drove to Marysville, where he was arrested.

Authorities find sex abuse on phone of Pierce County man amid child sex sting

The attorney’s office stated Young gave investigators permission to look through his phone, where they found images of sexual abuse of a minor.

“In October and November 2024, Young met a minor online, traveled to her hometown in southwest Washington seven times, and videotaped sex acts with the 13-year-old,” the news release stated. “Text messages reveal that the victim had told Young her age.”

Young faces a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life in prison for attempted enticement of a minor and a mandatory sentence of 15 years to life in prison for production of sexual abuse. His trial is scheduled for July 14, 2025. Until then, he is being held at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac.

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