The 31-year-old son of a Buckley city councilman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to trying to bribe a witness in the first-degree child rape case against his father.
Court Commissioner Meagan Foley released Travis Reed on his own recognizance following his arraignment in Pierce County Superior Court.
Foley required him to report to the jail to be photographed and fingerprinted as part of his conditions of release. She also ordered him to have no contact with his father, Randy Reed, until the bribery case is resolved.
Randy Reed pleaded not guilty in September to charges he sexually abused a 7-year-old girl.
Prosecutors contend Travis Reed sent text messages to the victim’s mother last year offering to pay $200 a month until the girl turned 18 if she would drop the charges, court records show.
That would add up to $12,000.
The woman called Buckley police.
Officers made copies of the text messages and seized the younger Reed’s cellphone to verify that he sent messages at the times recorded on woman’s phone.
Randy Reed, a computer technician, has served on the City Council for 18 years. His term expires Dec. 31, 2013.
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com