22nd suspect arrested in Thurston County sex predator sting

Another arrest has been made in the Washington State Patrol’s first sex predator sting operation in Thurston County.

Detectives with the Missing and Exploited Children Task Force have arrested 22 suspects this month in the undercover effort. The Olympian named 19 of those suspects in a report published Tuesday.

One of the remaining suspects was arrested on an unrelated warrant, but has still not been charged in this case, said WSP spokesman Kyle Moore. The other remaining suspect has been referred to the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division because he is a soldier at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The latest arrest is Puyallup resident Kris Keith Bennett, 52, who appeared Tuesday in Thurston County Superior Court on charges of first-degree attempted rape of a child. Bail was set at $1 million and arraignment was set for Oct. 4.

Bennett was arrested Monday after agreeing to meet for sex with two girls, ages 6 and 11, and a 13-year-old boy. In a graphic text message about his intentions, Bennett said he wanted to teach and train all three children with the mother’s help.

According to court documents, Bennett has pending charges for first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in King County and was out on bail at the time of his arrest.

In the sting operation, a team of three detectives led by WSP Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez had pretended to be a mother with three underage children who posted an online ad for sex. Many of the suspects who responded to the ad are facing attempted child rape charges after they arranged to have sex with one or more children.

Rodriguez said the Thurston County operation has led to the rescue of four children in abusive situations.

This story was originally published September 20, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "22nd suspect arrested in Thurston County sex predator sting."