Police say a Montgomery County court commissioner thought he was telling a teenage boy he wanted to have sex with him -- but he was talking with an undercover detective.
Daniel Read, 30, spoke on a social media network with someone he initially thought was a 17-year-old boy, Montgomery County police said. The social media user -- who actually was a vice unit detective -- then told Read he was 15 years old, police said.
Read continued to speak with the user and "expressed his desire to have sex" with him," police said. Read, of Germantown, then arranged to meet with the user at a McDonald's in Germantown, according to police.
Read arrived at the McDonald's about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 3 for the meeting, police said. Detectives met him in the parking lot and arrested him.
Read's lawyer defended his client's innocence and said there were no "ill intentions" in his communications.
Read was charged with sexual solicitation of a minor and was released after he posted $50,000 bond.
Read was employed as a Montgomery County court commissioner until four days after his arrest, a Maryland State Courts Division representative confirmed. It wasn't immediately known if he left the job or was fired.
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Commissioners staff 24-hour court offices throughout the state and are the first point of contact in the judicial system for someone who's been arrested or who wants a restraining order.
Read is the second Maryland court commissioner charged with a crime within a two-week period.
In early December, another commissioner was charged with a misdemeanor after authorities say he admitted to to placing his cellphone on the floor in order to take an "upskirt" photo of a woman at the county's detention center.
Anyone with information on Read is asked to call police. Detectives believe he may have contacted additional juveniles.
