Police: Man offered to buy woman’s child for $1,500

SEATTLE — A man accused of trying to buy a toddler was arrested by King County Metro Transit police officers Monday.

On Sept. 22, a 43-year-old man spoke to a young woman who was with her 2-year-old at the Aurora Village Transit Center in North Seattle.

Investigators say he offered to buy her child for $1,500. When the woman said no, the man gave her his contact information in case she changed her mind.

The mother called the King County Sheriff’s Office later that day and the case was forwarded to the Metro Transit Police Street Crimes Unit.

Using the contact information the suspect gave to the mother, a detective posing as the mother contacted the man and told him she was 17 years old.

Detectives say the suspect told the detective he was no longer interested in buying the child and instead wanted her to work for him as a prostitute.

On Monday, the suspect came to a Metro Transit station where he thought he was going to meet a 17-year-old for sex. He was arrested by Metro Transit police.

Once the man was at the precinct, he asked to make a phone call to a friend. Detectives say the suspect told his friend to get to his hotel room immediately to gather his belongings.

Metro police then went to the hotel and secured the room. Once a search warrant was issued, the room was searched, and a stolen gun was found, according to investigators.

The man was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of commercial sexual abuse of a minor and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

Cox Media Group