A Washington man was looking to play the role of ‘Sugar Daddy’ before being arrested and released on bail for soliciting a ‘sex date’ from a police officer posing as a 15-year old teenage boy.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office charged Hemant Kurmi, 34, of Bellevue, with two counts; communication with a minor for immoral purposes and attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor.
Kurmi was booked into jail on July 20, and prosecutors requested $75,000 bail. The judge set bail at $37,5000, and Kurmi posted bail and was released on July 25.
The Bellevue Police Department, which serves the city across Lake Washington from Seattle, used the case to sound the alarm about an uptick in the disturbing trend of “sugaring,” where juveniles take up relationships online with older individuals in exchange for expensive goods or money.
Police have been warning parents that victims often are unaware they’re being groomed by these adults for sex or sex trafficking.
A detective with the Bellevue Police Department created an online social media account and said Kurmi contacted him through this fake profile.
It didn’t take long for their conversation to quickly turn to one about sex. The detective said, “I him I was 15-years old, in high school, and that I still live with my parents. However, Kurmi still made a date with me to meet up at a location in Bellevue.”
Detectives were waiting for the suspect and arrested him without incident.
“This was a case of sugaring, which we are seeing a lot more recently,” Bellevue Police Captain Shelby Shearer said. “We often see juveniles and other vulnerable people engage in relationships in exchange for material goods and money. They’re looking for a sugar daddy.”
“The danger arises when the victims don’t realize they are being groomed for sex or sex trafficking,” Shearer added. “It’s a very crazy and sick world we live in anymore with internet making it easier for these sex predators.”
The department said parents are encouraged to pay attention to any unusual gifts or expensive items that simply appear and to be involved and monitor their child’s social media contacts.
“It’s also a good idea to talk with kids about the dangers of these kinds of grooming tactics,” the press release added.
Hookers are advertising themselves as “Care Givers” on FB and other sites.
In reality, this “grooming” is taking place in our public schools…where liberal teachers are now teaching school children about sex at age 5, and that it is “ok” to change your sex!