Man accused of sex crimes linked to company that provides supervised visitations for kids



SEATTLE -- A man trusted with helping at-risk kids is now accused of sex crimes against children.

The Washington State Patrol says he is one of six people arrested in an undercover sting in Snohomish County -- all accused of targeting kids.

The man is 45-year-old Stephen Canter, and he's on the website for an agency that's been contracted with the state and Child Protective Services since 2008.

Canter, who is listed as a real estate broker, was arrested Sunday in a sting targeting the rape and exploitation of children. He's also listed on the Web page for the Supervised Visitation Network in Everett, which has a business license for Edmonds as well. He's linked there to a company called Comfort Care, which appears to be owned by his wife. The company works with kids and parents to provide supervised visitations.

According to the arrest report, Canter communicated with an undercover detective and "agreed to meet and commit sex acts with girls that were eleven and eight years of age." It also says he wanted to "shower with the children," and agreed to provide "TracFone minutes, Butterfinger, which is a candy bar, and Skittles for commercial sex acts", along with "money for the family."

The detective in charge of the case, Det. Sgt. Carlos Rodriquez of the WSP's Missing and Exploited Children's Task Force,  said Wednesday night he's not sure if Canter victimized any kids from Comfort Care.  "There's some information this is not the first time he's done this ... ad for a minor for sex," he said.

Canter's wife was recently appointed to the Children's Commission for the city of Everett.

Q13 News called the state looking for answers. DSHS said it's investigating if Canter was involved with children. For now, it has stopped any visitations going through Comfort Care.