Source: ladyjusticemyth.blog
[ACSOL’s note: Please take action no matter what state you live in! it only takes a few minutes to click the links at the bottom this article and indicate you oppose.]
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. “
Please enter a pro comment to support these bills:
Click here to support WA State HB 5312
Click here to support WA State HB 5282