Former Seattle firefighter arrested in sex predator sting in Tacoma found not guilty
A now-retired Seattle firefighter arrested in Tacoma during a sting operation meant to identify sexual predators has been found not guilty of trying to have sex with two 13-year-old girls who were actually undercover state troopers.
After a Pierce County jury failed to reach a verdict in his case last year, a trial in January ended with jurors finding Andrew Sapier not guilty of two counts of second-degree attempted rape of a child. Sapier’s defense attorney said jurors could not decide on a third charge, communication with a minor for immoral purposes, and prosecutors dismissed it Jan. 27.
Sapier was arrested in March 2021 during the Washington State Patrol’s “Operation Daycare,” which led to the arrest of four people the agency said were alleged sexual predators who targeted children in Pierce County. Sapier, 54, was placed on administrative leave at Seattle Fire Department after his arrest. He had been a firefighter since 1998. A spokesperson for the department said Sapier retired a little more than a month later.
None of the arrests made in the operation have so far led to a conviction. One Tacoma man’s case is pending trial, another man’s case was dismissed because he died by homicide in Kent, and a third man doesn’t appear to have been charged in Pierce County, according to Superior Court records.
One of Sapier’s defense attorneys, Mark Middaugh, told The News Tribune on Monday that Sapier asked for privacy as he moves on with his life.
“We are pleased that the jury reached the only conclusion compelled by the evidence: Andrew Sapier was not guilty of both counts of attempted child rape,” Middaugh and another attorney, Cooper Offenbecher, said in written statement. “We appreciate that the Pierce County Prosecutor made the appropriate decision – after the jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of not guilty – to dismiss Count 3.”
Sapier was accused of planning to have sex with the 13-year-olds at a house in Tacoma. According to charging documents, detectives met him on a dating app and, after conversing and exchanging cell phone numbers, gave him directions to the house and asked him to bring alcohol and condoms.
When he arrived shortly after 10 p.m., a trooper let him in and told Sapier her friend was in the shower. He was then detained.
Sapier’s attorneys made a defense of general denial and entrapment during both trials, according to court filings. In a trial memorandum, the lawyers said the dating profile for the woman Sapier communicated with stated she was 52. In messages, Sapier initially said he liked that they were the same age, then responded with disbelief when the other person said she was 13.
Shortly before he arrived in Tacoma, the attorneys said Sapier sent a message telling the other person he wouldn’t bring them drugs or alcohol and that he thought they were messing with him about being so young.
