He thought July 7 was his lucky day. Jurors decided his plans included child sex

The 69-year-old man packed up a bag with sex toys, condoms and Viagra, grabbed a couple Slurpees and drove to a Richland apartment for a night of “family fun.”

Thomas A. Swarers walked through the door with a big smile on his face, but that quickly disappeared once he saw police waiting to arrest him.

Swarers claimed he was there to have sex with a woman and the drinks were meant to be a distraction for her kids while they had time alone.

But a jury didn’t buy it and took little more than an hour Friday to agree with prosecutors that Swarers’ focus was on the children.

He intended to have sex with the woman's two daughters, ages 6 and 11, and maybe watch the mother with her 13-year-old son.

The family was not real, but Swarers didn’t know that when he answered a Craigslist advertisement under the “Casual Encounters” tab.

He was one of 26 men arrested last July in an undercover sting targeting online child sex predators.

Now 70, Swarers was the first defendant from the “Net Nanny Operation” to take his case to trial.

The Benton County Superior Court jury convicted him on two counts of attempted first-degree child rape.

Swarers did not testify or call any witnesses in his trial, which started Monday with jury selection.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 7 1/2 to 10 years in prison, with the possible maximum of life. Sentencing is scheduled May 2.

He’s now being held without bail in the Benton County jail since he was convicted of a sex crime.

“We believe the jury was very thoughtful and careful in their consideration of this case,” Deputy Prosecutors Andrew Howell and Diana Ruff said in a joint statement. “And the fact that they returned with verdicts within an hour speaks to the strength of the evidence showing Mr. Swarers’ intentions to rape two young girls.”

Swarers thought July 7 was his lucky day, Ruff said in her closing argument Friday. He found an ad on Craigslist at 6:30 a.m. for “family fun,” with a note that mommy likes to watch.

Just to be sure he was reading it correct, Swarers sent a response saying he’d be interested if the mother’s family was involved.

Undercover detectives tried to separate out those who were looking for adult sex by using keywords that would capture the interests of people who wanted sex with children.

A lot of people will respond with comments like, “Whoa, you’re sick,” “I’m going to contact police,” and “Are you talking about your own children?” said Ruff.

But not Swarers. He said they were offering exactly what he was looking for, he was glad he found that family, and believed it could be a good relationship, said Ruff.

She rejected defense attorney Karla Kane Hudson’s statement that Swarers was a “confused, lonely, heartbroken widower.”

Swarers had a date scheduled with an adult woman the next day, and a couple weeks before his arrest he visited with an ex-wife in an attempt to rekindle their romance, Ruff said.

He’s the one who confirmed that children would participate in the meetup, and suggested to the fictitious mother that he could help teach the girls how to please a man. Then he showed up showered, shaved and ready with everything he needed to have sex with those girls, she said.

Swarers, who sat at the defense table in a button-down dress shirt and slacks, shook his head through most of Ruff’s closing argument.

Hudson asked jurors to “very carefully and meticulously step into” Swarers’ shoes on that date and “join him in his journey.”

Swarers told police the truth. While he was in search of a long-term relationship, he also had sexual needs — with adult women, she said.

“Mr. Swarers had no intention absolutely whatsoever of having sex with a 6-year-old child and an 11-year-old child. He said that over and over,” said Kane Hudson. “He was honest, he was clear in his interview, and he maintains that to this day.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2018 at 4:46 PM with the headline "He thought July 7 was his lucky day. Jurors decided his plans included child sex."