A Kentridge High School teacher faces a sex crime charge after he allegedly agreed to meet and pay a 15-year-old girl for sex that he had met through a website advertisement.
The teacher showed up to meet the girl that he thought was a high school cheerleader. But after Seattle Police arrested him he found out a detective had posed online as the girl and he was part of an undercover sting by police who had placed the ad.
Brent Patrick Conley, 27, is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 3 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle on a charge of attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor, according to charging papers filed Sept. 20 by King County prosecutors.
The Kent School District placed Conley, in his first year as a full-time teacher at Kentridge, on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, said Chris Loftis, school district spokesman, during a Tuesday phone interview. Conley is an 11th-grade English teacher and 10th-grade social studies teacher.
Police arrested Conley on Sept. 18 outside of the downtown Seattle McDonald’s at 2401 Fourth Ave. S. He was booked that night into King County jail in Seattle and released on bail Sept. 19. Bail was set at $75,000.
Police contacted school district officials after Conley, of Seattle, told them he taught at Kentridge.
“We got word from the Seattle Police on Thursday (Sept. 19) about his arrest,” Loftis said. “We took action and gave him notice that he was not to be on campus or have any contact with students until the matter is resolved.”
Senior Deputy Prosector Carol Spoor wrote in the charging papers that Conley did solicit, offer or request to engage in sexual conduct with a minor in return for a fee.
The ad in a Casual Encounters section of a popular website featured a title of, “Student looking for older men,” according to charging papers. Conley reportedly responded through email and started up a correspondence where he was told the girl was a high school cheerleader looking to make some money by having sex.
The conversations via email and later text continued for two days and Conley reportedly agreed to pay $100 for sex. He agreed to meet her at the McDonald’s in downtown Seattle on Fourth Avenue. Officers observed Conley at about 7:06 p.m. Sept. 18 arriving and parking at the agreed upon meeting location.
After officers took Conley into custody, he admitted to detectives that he went to the location to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex. According to emails obtained by police, Conley planned to take the girl to his Seattle home for sex.
Conley has no prior criminal history, according to the charging papers.
Loftis said the district went through all of its regular hiring practices and background checks before hiring Conley in late August. He said Conley previously worked as a substitute teacher in the Marysville School District.
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