Child Prostitution Sting Nabs 4 Beaverton Men

BEAVERTON, OR — Four men were arrested in Beaverton during a child predator sting Thursday, led by Beaverton detectives and members of the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force. All four men were charged with online sexual corruption and luring a minor.

According to Beaverton police spokesman Mike Rowe, the sting operation was geared toward "identifying and arresting adults who were intent on having sex with children fifteen and younger," with detectives and FBI agents communicating with the men online and arranging to meet under the pretense they would be having sex with kids.

"Child exploitation by sexual predators online is a major problem," Rowe said in a statement. "Operations like this are done to keep our children safe and to identify these predators."

The four men, all from Beaverton, were taken to the Washington County Jail. Only one still remained in custody at the time of this post. They are:

• Blake Aaron Dufault, 24 — charged with one count of online sexual corruption and luring a minor;

• David Fiks, 19 — charged with two counts each of online sexual corruption and luring a minor;

• William Glenn Street, 45 — charged with two counts each of online sexual corruption and luring a minor;
  and
• Jacob River Wren, 31 — charged with one count of online sexual corruption and luring a minor.

Also on Thursday, a Washington County Circuit Court judge sentenced a 36-year-old man to nearly six years in prison for compelling the prostitution of a 17-year-old girl — a crime uncovered by Beaverton police and FBI agents in September 2017.

"We are committed to investigating and prosecuting these crimes — working with multiple law enforcement agencies, but also with the FBI," said Kevin Barton, chief deputy district attorney for the Washington County District Attorney's Office. "The thing about the internet is that it makes is so these concerns about the commercial exploitation of children can exist in any community with internet access … (and) there are a variety of ways these crimes can come to light."

According to Deputy District Attorney Andrew Freeman, Ahmed Turay Jr. was convicted unanimously by a Washington County jury "following a contentious three-day trial that included frequent outbursts from the defendant and testimony from the victim" — a girl Turay pimped out using the website backpage.com.

Barton prosecuted Turay's trial.

"On September 6, 2017, detectives with the Beaverton Police Department and the federal Child Exploitation Task Force arranged a 'date' with a 17 year-old Washington girl featured in online prostitution ads on backpage.com," Freeman wrote in a statement. "Undercover officers observed as the child arrived in a silver Mercedes Benz driven by Turay. When interviewed, the child confirmed she was there for prostitution and told investigators that Turay was holding money that she had made from previous prostitution activity."

The girl also told investigators she'd made somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 during a summer of prostituting under Turay's direction.

Overwhelming evidence notwithstanding, Turay complained at sentencing that he felt "attacked" by state criminal justice officials, Freeman said, noting Turay's choice to argue with Judge Oscar Garcia as the sentence was being imposed.

"You still don't get it, sir," Garcia told Turay, pointing out the clear evidence stacked against him.

"Can we get this over with?" Turay reportedly asked in response.

Images via Washington County District Attorney, Beaverton Police Department