In Olympia, a man has admitted to his involvement in illegal activities linked to a sting operation named Net Nanny. This operation led to the arrest of 15 men who were attempting to form sexual relationships with minors.
Aaron Michael Henderson, a 32-year-old from Olympia, stood silently in court on Tuesday, March 12. Dressed in his jail attire and behind bars, he listened as Cowlitz County Judge Thad Scudder accepted his guilty plea and canceled his bail.
His sentencing is set for April 24.
Henderson could be facing a prison term of slightly over three years to four years, as per the court documents. However, the prosecutors are pushing for a minimum of four years in state prison for Henderson. They also want him to be under lifetime community surveillance, undergo a psychosexual evaluation, avoid contact with anyone under 16, and register as a sex offender.
Initially, Henderson was charged with four serious offenses. These included one count of attempted rape of a child in the first degree, one count of attempted rape of a child in the second degree, one count of attempted child molestation in the first degree, and one count of child molestation in the second degree.
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop two charges of attempted rape of a child and one charge of attempted child molestation. If Henderson had been found guilty of these charges, he could have faced 15 to nearly 20 years in prison.
Judge Scudder informed Henderson that the Washington State Department of Corrections Indeterminate Sentence Review Board has the authority to keep him imprisoned for life if deemed necessary.
Henderson was caught after he responded to a fake online ad and traveled from Olympia to Longview on October 27, believing he was going to meet a middle-aged woman and her two young children.
In reality, Henderson was communicating with an undercover police officer the entire time. He expressed his intention to engage in sexual activities with the children, who were purported to be between 9 and 12 years old.
Throughout their conversation, which included emails and texts, Henderson revealed to the undercover officer that he had previous sexual encounters with underage girls. He also mentioned he would bring condoms to their meeting.
So far, four men have been convicted as a result of the November sting operation.
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