Police Officer Arrested After Teen Is Held Naked In Mock Jail Cell

A King County Police officer was charged yesterday with molesting and exploiting a 16-year-old girl.

William Arthur Erdt, 48, of Vashon Island, a 24-year Police Department veteran, was charged with several felonies, including unlawful imprisonment, communication with a minor for immoral purposes and third-degree assault. He also was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor.

If convicted of the most serious charges - two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor - Erdt could receive at least five years in prison.

He has been released from King County Jail on personal recognizance.

The crimes are alleged to have occurred between Aug. 31, 1994, and Oct. 28. Five of the counts result from incidents alleged to have occurred this summer.

According to charging papers, this summer Erdt told the girl that a fellow police officer saw her commit a traffic violation but agreed to let him solve the problem. He then told the girl he had spoken with a judge who told him there was only one way she could avoid spending time in jail - by duplicating the conditions of jail for 24 hours on the outside.

When faced with that ultimatum, according to court documents, the girl agreed to do as Erdt asked. What followed were a series of incidents in which Erdt allegedly forced the teenager to participate in sexually compromising acts.

He first told her to stay home undressed in the house for a full day. He later forced her to undress in a makeshift jail cell inside a barn, where he checked her hair and other personal areas for contraband. He then sprayed her with disinfectant, checked her fingernails and cleaned her stomach.

Later, the teenager was tied up and videotaped.

When the victim asked the reason for all this, Erdt is alleged to have told her that was the way it is done in jail.

In one incident, according to charging papers, the defendant told the teenager he'd discovered she had a sexually transmitted disease and needed injections for five days to cure it. He then allegedly used a syringe to inject her with an unknown substance.