Bail set at $750K for Olympia man accused of enticing kids to perform sexual act
A Thurston County Superior Court Judge set bail at $750,000 for an Olympia man accused of enticing children to perform a sexual act in front of him, court records show.
Richard Matthews Malsed, 61, made his preliminary appearance in court on Friday.
The judge found probable cause for the following crimes: two counts of promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, and the unlawful selling, offering to sell, delivering or giving of a substance containing a solvent that releases toxic vapors or fumes to another, court records read.
Court records show the following:
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office began to investigate Wednesday after a report of a neighbor providing drugs to children if they would masturbate in front of him.
The reporting party said his son had a new friend’s profile on his Snapchat named “Rich.”
The son explained that his friend had gone over to another friend’s house where he was pressured to do “Galaxy Gas,” a brand of flavored nitrous oxide that is marketed for whipping cream, but when inhaled creates a high for the user.
As the two were using the gas, one of them said he gets the gas and sex toys from his neighbor, Rich, in exchange for masturbating in front of him.
“The man’s son explained that there were three children from the elementary school who were all involved in similar activities,” the court records read.
Court records show five victims, all 14 or younger.
The elementary school was not disclosed, but the Thurston County Jail log shows Malsed was arrested at Griffin Elementary School, which is part of the Griffin School District in the Steamboat Island area of the county. The district serves elementary and middle school students.
Malsed lives in the area, court information shows.
Detectives continued to investigate and confirmed the man’s son’s report. Malsed was arrested Thursday afternoon.
“Richard was located while driving and a traffic stop occurred when he pulled into the elementary school,” the court records read. “It was realized that he was attempting to attend one of his victim’s basketball games. He was taken into custody and read his Miranda rights. He replied ‘yes’ to understanding his rights, but did not wish to speak.”
A detective also obtained a search warrant to search the defendant’s house and allegedly found Galaxy Gas, multiple sex toys and a “significant amount of devices capable of containing child sexual abuse material.”
A check of jail records shows that Malsed is still in custody. His arraignment is set for 1:30 p.m. May 1.
