This article is part of a call to action effort – please assist!
Anyone can help supply votes in favor of these two WA State Senate bills with their own address by using the following links:
If an advocate is in WA state also do the following:
We all know the registry doesn’t work. That the registry is in fact harmful to our communities and families. Yet it persists. I have been advocating against the registry, and proactive police stings in particular for many years now.
What we don’t see much of is responsible legislation, yet in the 2025 session in Washington State two bills have emerged that are doing just that! These bills are explicitly calling out the proactive police stings for what they are, victimless police overreach that has carried unreasonable consequences for those unfortunate enough to have fallen victim to online proactive stings. While the bills do not cover anything concerning the proactive sting tactics themselves, I personally believe these stings to be a form of entrapment. The entrapment defense has gained some ground against these charges, including my son’s case in which he was ultimately acquitted.
These two WA state bills are a culmination of many years of hard work and dedication, specifically by one family. Bruce and Joanne Glant’s then 20-year-old son Bryan was charged with attempted rape of a child in the first degree and found guilty at trial. These were charges incurred by a police proactive sting on the adult website of Craigslist, the ‘No strings attached’ section that used to exist and that was plainly marked for use by those eighteen years or older.
Bryan was sentenced to 9 years in prison for his victimless crime, along with lifetime community custody (read ‘parole’), and lifetime registration. In the state of WA Bryan could file a request to be removed from the registry after 10 years, but that request might not be granted. Bryan has been incarcerated since 2016 and was recently cleared to be released this coming March. His family has endured slander, depression, and medical ailments brought on by stress. Yet the Glants have persevered in their efforts to right the grave injustice that has befallen their son.
I have had the pleasure of communicating with Bryan both on the telephone and through email exchanges. I found him to be a very respectful, intelligent young man. We spoke of ways he could advocate against the ‘bad faith policing’ happening in these proactive stings. To his credit he has spent untold amounts of time researching, quoting, and arguing the merits of the registry, and the questionable tactics used in proactive stings by the Washington State Patrol’s ‘Net Nanny’ campaign.
‘Net Nanny’ are a series of online proactive stings run by the WSP (Washington State Patrol) MECTF (Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force). It is the brainchild of then lead detective Carlos Rodriguez through the impetus of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). Operation Underground Railroad has since been plagued by charges that “the organization misused donor funds and lied to the public about the nature and effectiveness of its work”. Carlos Rodriguez worked directly for O.U.R. following his resignation from WSP.
In 2014, when the Net Nanny stings started in WA state, there was a designated advisory board to oversee the workings and conduct of MECTF. In 2015 Det Rodriguez was able to effectively petition for the removal of the advisory board as superfluous. The removal of any oversight whatsoever to the police tactics used within the Net Nanny operations was instrumental to capitalizing on federal funding through ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children). ICAC funding of proactive stings is codified in 34 U.S. Code § 21116. Without oversight, proactive sting police tactics changed from responsible concern for citizens’ rights to enticement using adult pictures, adult websites, and aggressive language. In a deposition of my son’s case, we were told that at one point MECTF refused to investigate cases with real children. We also know that MECTF has counted ‘saved children’ as an arrestee’s family members, without any evidence of abuse, as opposed to children removed from actual abuse. The return of oversight would bring to light such subversive practices.
The first of the two new WA state bills 5282 is to do just that, reestablish MECTF’s advisory board going forward. It also establishes that one of the five members designated on the board will be a defense attorney or their representative. This will not only make sure that police tactics used by MECTF will be scrutinized, but also that they will be scrutinized by those who do not financially benefit from said tactics.
While this first bill is a no brainer, and in my opinion, oversight should never have been rescinded in the first place, the second bill is even more direct. WA state Senate Bill 5312 states that persons arrested in a Net Nanny type proactive sting, where the alleged minor is fictitious and no prior history exists, shall receive mitigated registration sentences. If convicted under clause 9A.44.130 (desc) the registration shall be for 5 years. Under clause 9.95.420 the community custody (parole) for those convictions founded in a proactive sting shall be sentenced to 3 years. This is a vast improvement from the lifetime registration and lifetime community custody previously mandated for these attempted convictions.
Recently in CA the Sex Offender Policy Board put forth new recommendations concerning ‘attempted’ crimes. Within those is a recommendation that people convicted in police stings under ‘attempted’ charges be assigned to tier 1, the lowest tier, instead of tier 3, the highest tier. Currently the tier for an attempted sexual offense in CA is tied to the tier assigned when the offense was not merely ‘attempted’ but was completed. Another sound SOPB recommendation that will hopefully be enacted.
While we can’t know yet how these bills will fare, whether they will even make it to the floor for a vote, we do know this is a significant milestone in our journey. As Bryan succinctly puts it “It’s time we start looking at what makes good policy as opposed to what makes good headlines. “
The Lady Justice Myth 
Great job summarizing! I hope everyone across the country follows our lead on this, accesses the link you provide here, and records their PRO position! We are working on it here in VA, too!
Norm Achin (RSO – Registered Social Objector)
YT – ICAC-UNPACKED ! and sex sting victim, 2018.
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Done.
Warmest regards,
Kyle C. Akers, Legal Assistant Law Firm of Tammy W. Akers, LLC The Hayward Building 18 East Willamette Avenue Colorado Springs, CO 80903-1132 Telephone: 719.985.8192 <(719)%20985-8192> Fax: 719.418.5286 <(719)%20418-5286> Email: twakerslawpl@gmail.com
Please be advised that this transmittal may be a confidential attorney-client communication or may otherwise be privileged or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please do not read, copy or re-transmit this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us by email (twakerslaw@gmail.com) or by telephone (call us at 719-985-8192) and delete this message and any attachments. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and assistance.
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Hi Kathleen-How are you?I submitted my support for these 2 bills. Very promising. I wanted to ask your opinion.Regardless of political affiliation, something th
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I submitted my support for these bills. I am very familiar with these cases.
I recently came across a troubling story about a mother who used the adult dating site Plenty of Fish, a platform where users can set age preferences for potential matches (source: https://www.remodelormove.com/can-you-set-age-preferences-on-plenty-of-fish/). This site, often used by consensual adults seeking casual encounters, has also become a platform where law enforcement and vigilante groups conduct online sting operations. However, the methods employed in these sting operations raise significant concerns about their effectiveness in identifying and stopping individuals using these forums for the sexual exploitation of children.
In the real case of Victoria Martens, she created an adult profile to attract men seeking consensual adult relationships. According to the evidence, her profile did not suggest in any way that she was offering children for sexual exploitation. She portrayed herself as an adult woman looking for adult connections on a platform designed for consensual adult interactions—behavior that is lawful and should not warrant government interference.
During police interrogation, Martens admitted that the men who ultimately assaulted her children did not know that they would have permission to do this to the children prior to arriving. Discussions about this did not occur online or over the phone. Instead, the men themselves initiated the topic by asking if she had children, signaling their interest. Martens then allowed these men to act on their intentions, but it was clear that the suggestion and invitation regarding her children came only after these men expressed interest.
If law enforcement’s true goal is to protect children, their approach should reflect this. For example, officers could pose as men on adult hookup sites, monitoring for women who bring up their children as potential victims or who respond positively to the decoys when asked if they have children. If a woman invites to the man to meet, after they have brought up children, it could then lead to further investigation to establish probable cause. This approach would align with the principles of justice and evidence-based policing. However, current practices often involve law enforcement initiating conversations about children, introducing illegal activities where none existed. This raises serious ethical and legal concerns. Why are officers on adult hookup sites encouraging conversations about child exploitation with men who were otherwise seeking consensual adult encounters?
Another potential approach would involve officers posing as women on these platforms and monitoring men’s behavior. If a man never mentions children, law enforcement should move on and not engage in unwarranted provocations. It is unjustifiable for the government to lure individuals under false pretenses and then attempt to solicit or encourage illegal activity. Such actions not only undermine public trust but also raise legitimate questions about entrapment and outrageous government conduct.
It’s deeply concerning that the government continues to argue that these practices are not entrapment. It’s critical to challenge these methods and advocate for more ethical and effective approaches that focus on protecting children without violating fundamental rights or creating crimes that would not otherwise occur. After all, if their stated intention is to save and protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, their actions must align with that purpose.
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Reply to Anonymous:
It is a sickness perpetuated by bad police and policy.
We have ICAC Mandatory Operational Standards that are to strictly followed in these “proactive” cat fishing schemes. The target is to set the tone, pace and subject matter ie bring up children first…I am poorly paraphrasing, they are to give the targets multiple outs, among many other mandates. None of this is followed for the net nanny stings as these were Opeation Underground Railroad’s brainchild. The provided training, equipment and money paying OT and housing for the stings. OUR needed the arrest video and numbers to fundraise to their donors. WSP and Carlos Rodriguez built OUR & Tim Ballard brand. He then went on to abuse & traffic devout Mormon women who thought they were doing great work in “saving children” Private demands from non government operators is what is driving this illegal activity, destroying communities and over taking our good police and filling the prisons with so called violent predators. So as women we can live in fear. Tim ballard & OUR & WSP think this is good policy to assign 350 men with NO victims lifetime community custody, lifetime registry in Washington State. We are really delusional to think this is good policy.
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I am very encouraged by the updates.
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