Bail set at $50,000 for Everett firefighter arrested in police underage sex sting

SEATTLE -- Bail was set at $50,000 Thursday for a 60-year-old Everett firefighter and paramedic  arrested for allegedly trying to pay for sex with a fictitious 15-year-old girl being pimped by her "father" in a police sting, Seattle police said.

The accused waived his appearance at the bail hearing Thursday, but was ordered to appear Friday, which is also the deadline for a charging decision.

A vice detective posing as the father of a 15-year-old girl exchanged messages with the firefighter during an online sting targeting men looking for sex with underage girls, police said in probable cause documents filed  in King County Superior Court.

The firefighter agreed to meet up and pay the 'father' $150 to have sex with his daughter, police said, and attempted to visit what he thought was the apartment in West Seattle where the father and daughter supposedly lived.

Detectives took him into custody once he arrived at the meeting place Wednesday. Police allegedly found the man with condoms, sex toys and personal lubricants.

The man was booked into the King County Jail for suspicion of commercial exploitation of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

“We’re focused on going after people preying on children for prostitution,” police Lt. Jim Fitzgerald said. “That’s our priority.”

The firefighter, who has worked for the city of Everett since 1991, was placed on leave, Everett city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke told the Everett Herald.