Two Kennewick men last to be arraigned on undercover sex sting charges

Two Kennewick men who needed time to hire attorneys after they were arrested in an undercover child sex sting both have entered innocent pleas to the allegations.

Yasir M. Majeed, 35, and Kyle R. Sickels, 25, are the last of the 26 suspects to be arraigned in Benton County Superior Court.

The Tri-Cities Net Nanny operation targeted would-be perpetrators who either posted or responded to online advertisements for sex with children.

Law enforcement officials said the postings generated thousands of replies, but they only arrested those who actually traveled to a predetermined location, like a Richland apartment where undercover officers were waiting.

The multi-agency effort, led by the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force, took place from July 5 to 9.

Majeed is charged with attempted second-degree rape of a child and commercial sex abuse of a minor. He is out of custody after posting bond on $30,000 bail, and has an Oct. 9 trial date.

Prosecutors allege he agreed to pay $100 to be with a 13-year-old girl, and sent a picture of the truck he was driving to the meet-up.

Detectives watched Majeed pull into the apartment complex and then drive back out, court documents said. He was arrested in a traffic stop.

Majeed hired Scott Johnson of Richland as his defense attorney.

Sickels is accused of answering an ad for a 13-year-old girl looking for an “older daddy” and offering up his home for them to get together and party.

He gave his phone number and said he wanted to have sex with the girl and her friend, then watch the two of them together, court documents said. He allegedly brought alcohol to the meet-up.

Sickels has posted $25,000 bail, and hired Matt Rutt of Richland as his defense attorney. Trial is set for Oct. 16 on one count of attempted second-degree child rape.

The suspects have been ordered to stay off the internet and to avoid any contact with minors.

This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Two Kennewick men last to be arraigned on undercover sex sting charges."