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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Man sentenced for attempted child rape

By , Columbian Breaking News Reporter
Published:

A Vancouver man who tried to solicit sex from underage girls that he met online was sentenced Friday to more than 8½ years in prison.

Mason J. Thomas, 37, pleaded guilty last month in Clark County Superior Court to commercial sex abuse of a minor, attempted second-degree rape of a child and possession of a controlled substance — heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.

According to court records, Thomas contacted three different girls between the ages of 13 and 15 through an online social site between November 2015 and April 2016.

He created an account and posed as a 15-year-old boy. Thomas tried to engage the girls in sexual chats and also solicited sex in exchange for money and drugs, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The Vancouver Police Department received several cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the accounts, the affidavit said.

Police set up an undercover operation on the site, posing as a 13-year-old girl. An account, believed to be operated by Thomas, contacted the sting account. However, Thomas later said he didn’t believe the girl was who she said she was, court records state.

Investigators set up a second undercover account and again received messages from Thomas posing as a 15-year-old boy and using the alias Rob. “Rob” believed he was talking with a 13-year-old girl and tried to engage in a sexual chat and solicit sex for money and video games, according to court documents.

Police later traced the accounts to an internet address belonging to Thomas and discovered child pornography files, the affidavit said.

They arranged to meet and arrest Thomas at a business, where he thought he was picking up the 13-year-old girl to have sex for money.

While serving a search warrant at Thomas’ residence, investigators said, they found residue in two ceramic bowls and on a spoon that field-tested positive for methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin, according to court records.

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Columbian Breaking News Reporter