Police: Local Pastor Tried to Pay for Sex with Teen Girl

Seattle Pi
February 22, 2013

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/2013/02/20/police-local-pastor-tried-to-pay-for-sex-with-teen-girl/

One of the pastors at Everett’s First Baptist Church was arrested Tuesday night after going to meet a teenage girl he thought would have sex with him, authorities said.

Instead, John K. Lawlor was arrested by Seattle police in an operation that included members of the vice unit.

Lawlor is suspected of expecting to pay for sex with who he thought was a teenage girl, police said. The planned meeting place was a short drive from Northgate Mall. He was charged Thursday with commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

The phony ad was placed by a detective on Feb. 8 and the pastor responded a short time later from a Gmail account, according to court documents. Police say a conversation about price and availability ensued.

Investigators said the pastor initially said he couldn’t make a meeting time because he was on call with a hospital, and later requested photos of the alleged teen. A detective responded saying the girl was 16 and “full of energy,” court documents show.

The pastor allegedly offered $200 for sex with the girl, which included “oral and regular sex,” a detective told the court. After Lawlor was arrested in the 2100 block of Northeast Northgate Way, police found $200 and condoms in his red Chevy pickup, according to a probable cause statement.

Lawlor was booked into King County Jail shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday for investigation of commercial sex abuse of a minor. In a Wednesday afternoon bail hearing, the prosecutor wanted bail set at $75,000, but a judge ordered the pastor held on $50,000 bail. Jail records show he posted bond shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The church voicemail was full Wednesday and could not accept messages, according to a recording. Seattlepi.com tried to contact Lawlor by email after his release Wednesday night, but he did not respond to an e-mail send to his address on the First Baptist Church website.

Lawlor does not appear to have a criminal history in Washington, and court documents say he moved here from Idaho last year. The First Baptist Church website, which lists his first name as Jack, states he’s married with grown children.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Carol Spoor said in court documents that Lawlor’s intentions “were clear from his e-mail correspondence and he admitted to the detective that he intended to have sex with the girl.”

A 16-year-old is legally capable of consenting to having sexual contact under Washington State law, with some exceptions. But it’s illegal to pay for sex.