Seattle firefighter charged with trying to have sex with underage girls in Tacoma
A Seattle firefighter was arrested during an online Net Nanny sting for allegedly trying to have sex with two 13-year-old girls.
The Washington State Patrol held Operation Day Care this week, arresting four “alleged sexual predators who targeted children in Pierce County,” according to the agency.
One of them was Andrew Sapier, 52, who has been a Seattle firefighter since 1998.
He has been placed on administrative leave, according to a Fire Department spokeswoman.
On Thursday, Pierce County prosecutors charged Sapier with two counts of second-degree attempted child rape and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $25,000 bail, which he posted within 24 hours.
Charging papers give this account:
An undercover State Patrol detective posed as a 13-year-old girl on social media and struck up a conversation with Sapier.
When the “girl” told him she and a friend were looking for fun, Sapier responded, “Well I’m looking for any fun!,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
They exchanged cell phone numbers and continued chatting, allegedly discussing whether Sapier should bring drugs, alcohol and condoms when he met the girls.
He drove to a Tacoma house and was arrested after coming inside and telling an undercover detective he believed to be an underage girl that he preferred for her to be clean-shaven, records say.
During an interview with Seattle police, Sapier said he went to the house hoping the girls, whom he’d seen photos of, weren’t actually 13.
“After the recording ended, Sapier stated he thought he might have been willing to have sex with two 13-year-olds,” prosecutors wrote in charging papers.
A judge ordered Sapier to have no contact with children other than his own.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 11:39 AM.
