An Olympia man has pleaded guilty to crimes connected to the Net Nanny sting operation that arrested 15 men who were seeking sexual relationships with minors.
Aaron Michael Henderson, 32, of Olympia stood quietly on Tuesday, March 12 in his jail uniform and confined behind a cage as presiding Cowlitz County Judge Thad Scudder accepted his guilty plea and revoked his bail.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 24.
Henderson is facing a sentence ranging from just over three to four years, according to court documents. Still, prosecutors are recommending that Henderson spend a minimum of four years in state prison, serve a lifetime of community custody, be compelled to take a psychosexual examination, have no contact with anyone younger than 16, and register as a sex offender.
He was initially charged with four counts, including 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.
In exchange, prosecutors would recommend the dismissal of the two attempted rape of a child charges as well as one of the attempted child molestation charges. Per the plea agreement, he could have been sentenced from 15 years to nearly 20 years if convicted.
Judge Scudder explained to Henderson that the Washington State Department of Corrections Indeterminate Sentence Review Board could hold him for the rest of his life if members sought fit.
Two days after answering a planted, online classified ad, according to a police report, Henderson traveled from the Olympia area to Longview on Oct. 27, to meet who he thought was a middle-aged woman and her two underage children.
Conversing with an undercover police officer the entire time, Henderson expressed hopes to engage in sexual activity with the children, whose ages range from 9 to 12 years old.
During their exchange, which included emails and texting, Henderson told the undercover police officer that he has had sexual relationships with underage girls in the past and that he would bring condoms with him for their rendezvous.
According to court records, four men have been convicted as a result of the November sting operation.
