TACOMA, Wash. — A 53-year-old sex offender is charged with attempting to molest an 8-year-old boy in a Tacoma YMCA shower.
Brian Coleman was arrested Tuesday after the boy claimed Coleman approached him while he showered and tried to lure him into a bathroom stall last May.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on May 20, the boy went to the YMCA at 1002 Pearl street in Tacoma for a swimming lesson. After the lesson, the boy went into the facility's shower while his mother waited outside. It was on the drive home that the boy, identified only as O.M., told his mother that a man named Brian rubbed soap on his back as he showered, then took his hand and tried to walk him over to a bathroom stall. The affidavit states O.M. refused to go with him.
During an interview with police, O.M. told Tacoma police detectives Brian put soap on his back and stomach and wanted him to go into the "big square stall" with him. The affidavit states O.M. told police he told Brian no, but that Brian would not let him go when he tried to leave the stall.
O.M. also told police Brian put soap on a friend of his who he described as a kid.
The boy’s mother reported the incident to YMCA staff. “We immediately worked with the parent to contact police and report, which is per our standard policy”, said YMCA spokeswoman Michelle LaRue.
The executive director of the YMCA supplied police with video showing the entrance of the locker room and identified Coleman entering the room at the approximate time O.M. reported the incident. Coleman also matched O.M.'s description as an "old" man with no hair on his head and a long white beard.
Coleman, who works as a long haul truck driver, was tracked down to a motel room in Texas and arrested in the early Tuesday morning and flown back to Tacoma to face charges Wednesday.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted child molestation and was ordered held on $500,000 bail.
LaRue said the organization checks on new members every three months to determine if any are registered sex offenders. According to court documents, Coleman was previously listed as a level one sex offender. He is now listed as a level three, the most likely to re-offend.
LaRue said his previous level one status may have made him more difficult to locate on sex offender lists. “So that begs us to do a little more diligent research in looking for those level ones”, said LaRue.
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