He denied plans to pay a 13-year-old girl for sex. A Tri-Cities jury didn’t believe him

A Tri-Cities man who offered $50 to a 13-year-old girl in exchange for sex told jurors that he had no intent of going through with it.

Stephen C. Perez claimed that he always kept condoms stocked in his cars for use with his then-wife.

But a Benton County jury didn’t believe Perez, taking less than three hours to convict him of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Both crimes are felonies.

Perez, who worked for a Hanford contractor, was one of 26 men swept up in an online child sex sting in July 2017 known as the Tri-Cities Net Nanny operation.

It targeted would-be perpetrators who either post their own advertisements on website’s like Craigslist’s former “Casual Encounters” section, or respond to ads, in search of children to have sex with.

In this sting, which lasted five days, undercover officers posed as parents offering up their kids or as young teens.

Perez,now 47, answered an ad that claimed to be a young woman looking for an “older daddy.”

He soon was informed that the woman was a 13-year-old runaway who wanted to have fun, and was sent a picture of a Washington State Patrol trooper posing as a teen, according to court documents.

Perez expressed concern that the girl was a cop but continued to chat with her, first in emails and then text messages.

The girl said she needed money and Perez asked how much. He specifically discussed what kind of sex he was interested in, and was told it would cost $50 to $100, documents said.

Perez took the witness stand in trial and said it was the officers who kept bringing up the sexual acts, not him.

But Deputy Prosecutor Laurel Holland, in questioning Perez, pointed out that the text message exchanges show he initiated the sex talk.

Perez at the time worked with computers in his job with a Department of Energy contractor. He since was fired.

He had been out of custody since posting bail shortly after his arrest. On Friday, Perez went back to jail following the guilty verdicts.

Holland commended the state patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force and the Richland Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit for their work on Perez’s case.

Perez faces six years and four months to 8 1/2 years in prison.

However, the attempted rape comes with an indeterminate sentence, which means Perez will get a maximum term of life. His ultimate release will be up to a state board after reviewing his behavior and treatment while behind bars.

Perez will be back in court May 29 to set a sentencing date.

This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 10:07 AM.