A 39-year-old Ferndale, Washington man was arrested on his way to the B.C. border early Friday as he tried to reach Abbotsford to have sex with a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said that Christopher David Johnston, who was arrested while attempting to illegally enter Canada, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle where he is charged with attempted enticement of a minor.
Johnston will remain in custody until a hearing next week.
According to the criminal complaint, in early May Johnston began communicating with his alleged victim after she responded to a personal ad he had placed on Craigslist. The ad said Johnston was seeking a “young lady to spoil.”
Despite knowing her age, Johnston allegedly engaged in increasingly sexualized emails, texts and chats with an undercover agent, ultimately arranging to meet the ‘child’ in Abbotsford for sex, the department of justice said.
He was arrested in the U.S. as he rode his bicycle approaching the border near Sumas, Washington. Via text message he told the ‘girl’ that he was planning on crossing the border illegally to meet her in Canada.
Attempted enticement of a minor is punishable in Washington state by a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison.
