Ferndale fires police officer suspected of soliciting a minor
The Ferndale Police Department officer who was charged with child molestation after allegedly soliciting a minor was fired Tuesday by the city of Ferndale.
The city announced in a news release Tuesday morning, Aug. 23, that Michael Scott Langton, 46, had been terminated by the department “due to an inability to carry out his duties.”
“The Bellingham Police Department is continuing to investigate this matter,” the release read. “The City of Ferndale is also conducting an internal investigation relating to this case, and that investigation is also ongoing. As this is an active case, the City and Ferndale Police Department cannot provide further comments or information until it is fully resolved.”
Langton was placed on administrative leave July 26 for the second time in less than a year during the investigation into his alleged actions. He was arrested on the same day at his home in Blaine and booked into the Skagit County Community Justice Center. He has since been released on $40,000 bail.
Langton was charged July 28 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of attempted second-degree child molestation after he allegedly propositioned a woman he initially met while responding to a 911 call for sex with her and her 12-year-old daughter. Court records show Langton also admitted his sexual attraction to children.
Court records show a jury trial in the case is currently scheduled to begin Oct. 24.
The current case
A Bellingham Police detective met July 26 with a woman in her late 30s after she called 911 wanting to report a Ferndale police officer, later identified as Langton, according to court records. She reported that on July 10 she called to report a collision in the parking lot of her apartment complex, Langton responded and spoke to her because she was a witness to the crash.
Langton and the woman spoke several times over the next couple of days, including a 45-minute conversation when Langton was off duty on July 12, court documents state, and Langton met the woman’s 12-year-old daughter when he went to her apartment on July 11.
Langton and the woman continued chatting and agreed to meet for a date on July 19, documents state, and the two spoke about sexual preferences during their conversations. Langton allegedly told the woman he was “into ‘barely legal porn’,” asked about engaging in sex with multiple people and spoke about nude beaches, court records show.
During their July 19 date, the woman went to Langton’s home and Langton asked her to watch pornography with young girls in it with him, according to court documents. The woman told the Bellingham police detective Langton “kept referring to it as ‘barely legal porn’,” and the woman refused to watch it with him, records show.
During the course of their conversations, Langton allegedly made multiple references to being sexually attracted to children, telling the woman he wanted to explore with girls 12 years old or younger and made other sexually explicit statements, the documents state.
Langton then sent several more sexually explicit messages to the woman before he allegedly asked the woman “Will you please play with me, I want to play with you and your daughter, nudist beach,” the court records show.
When the woman told Langton he crossed a line, he allegedly told her he believed the woman’s daughter was 18 years old, not 12, documents state.
Leave and lawsuits
Langton has been employed with the Ferndale Police Department since Aug. 30, 2012, and was previously employed with the Blaine Police Department.
Langton previously was placed on paid administrative leave in early October 2021 after he allegedly contacted a far-right extremist group.
He returned to duty less than a month later.
Langton has also been sued twice in federal court for allegedly violating people’s civil rights while doing his job. Both cases were settled out of court and dismissed.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 8:28 AM.
