A criminal case against a former Ferndale police officer accused of soliciting sex with the 12-year-old daughter of a woman he met while responding to a 911 call was dismissed February 6.
Whatcom County deputy prosecuting attorney Kellen B. Kooistra filed a motion in Whatcom County Superior Court February 6 to dismiss the attempted second-degree child molestation case against Michael Scott Langton, 47, of Blaine. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the case can be tried in the future.
Whatcom County prosecuting attorney Eric Richey said the prosecutor’s office didn’t have enough evidence to proceed.
Since Langton was charged with attempted child molestation, Richey said to convict him the prosecutor’s office would have to prove he made a substantial step, which requires an overt act, to commit the crime. Langton requested sex but those were mere words, Richey said, which are not enough to convict.
“We thought this was the correct thing to do based on the evidence provided,” Richey said.
In the motion to dismiss, Kooistra wrote that the prosecutor’s office had probable cause for the charge and sufficient evidence that Langton intended to commit a crime. What it lacked was sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he took a substantial step toward committing the crime as the law defines it.
According to the affidavit of probable cause (APC), Langton responded to the woman’s home after a report of a collision in her apartment parking lot on July 10, 2022. Langton gathered her contact information as a witness. He returned to the woman’s apartment the next day, and the woman’s 12-year-old daughter answered the door. Langton called the woman and said he forgot the name of her apartment complex.
On the following day, July 12, 2022, the woman called Langton to let him know a neighbor probably had video footage of the crash, according to the APC. Langton was not on duty at the time and the two talked for 45 minutes. The same day, he asked the woman on a date with his personal phone. They continued to communicate via phone calls and text messages and agreed to meet July 19, 2022.
The APC says Langton mentioned being into “barely legal porn” when speaking with the woman.
Langton added the woman on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, on July 19. The woman went to Langton’s house in Blaine that evening. Langton allegedly asked her to watch pornography of young girls with him. The woman refused, and he asked again later in the evening. She refused again, according to the APC.
Langton and the woman communicated daily over Signal. The APC says, according to screenshots, Langton made multiple references to being attracted to children and said he liked looking at a website of what appeared to be 10- to 15-year-old children in sexual exhibition.
He allegedly continued to mention his attraction to girls 12 years old and younger and then asked the woman for sex with her and her daughter, according to the APC.
The woman told Langton he had crossed a line, to which he backtracked and said he thought her daughter was 18 years old, not 12. The woman then reported Langton to the Bellingham Police Department.
Langton’s attorney Emily C. Beschen released a statement January 6 that said the allegation has been devastating to Langton and his family.
“This process has been extremely painful for both me and my family,” Langton said in the February 6 statement. “I am grateful to have this chapter of my life behind me and this criminal case closed. I want to thank my friends, family, and co-workers who stood behind me and offered support through this nightmare, as well as the guild attorney, Seth Davis, and attorney Emily Beschen.”
Langton is a military veteran and has worked as a law enforcement officer in Whatcom County for over a decade, the press release read.
The city of Ferndale fired Langton August 23, 2022 due to an inability to carry out his duties. City of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney told The Northern Light in an email the city still has an active internal investigation that is not yet complete. “We are not able to give comment at this time,” Sweeney wrote.
Prior to being fired, Langton was placed on administrative leave in October 2021 after he allegedly contacted far-right extremist group Oath Keepers. He was reinstated later that month after an investigation concluded the complaint against him was unfounded, Sweeney previously said.
Langton previously worked for Blaine Police Department and resigned in August 2012.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic or sexual violence, call the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) 24-hour hotline at 360/715-1563 or 877/715-1563. Brigid Collins Family Support Center, a Bellingham-based nonprofit working to end child abuse, can be reached at 360/734-4616 and brigidcollins.org. Lummi Victims of Crime has a 24-hour helpline at 360/312-2015. The National Domestic Violence Helpline operates a chat line at thehotline.org/help.
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