Ferndale cop from Blaine faces attempted child molestation charges

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A Ferndale police officer who lives in Blaine was charged with attempted child molestation after allegedly propositioning a woman, whom he met while responding to a 911 call, for sex with her and her 12-year-old daughter. This comes less than a year after he was placed on administrative leave for allegedly contacting a far-right extremist group.

Michael Scott Langton, 46, was charged with attempted second-degree child molestation July 28 in Whatcom County Superior Court. The woman reported Langton to a Bellingham Police Department detective July 26.

According to the affidavit of probable cause (APC), Langton responded to the woman’s report of a collision in her apartment parking lot on July 10. Langton gathered her information since she was 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, 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. 

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 continued to mention his attraction to girls 12 years old and younger and then allegedly 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 told the detective.

City of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney told The Northern Light in an email that Langton has been placed on paid administrative leave until either the internal investigation or the criminal investigation concludes. 

Langton was previously placed on administrative leave from Ferndale Police Department in October 2021 after he allegedly contacted a far-right extremist group, Oath Keepers. Sweeney said Langton was reinstated later that month after an investigation concluded the complaint against him was unfounded.

Langton was released from Skagit County Community Justice Center July 28 after meeting his set $40,000 bail. A no-contact order was put in place between Langton and the woman, and a sexual assault protection order was put in place between Langton and the minor.

Langton previously worked for the Blaine Police Department. He resigned in August 2012, spokesperson Tami Bhachu said in an email.

Langton was sued in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle for an incident that allegedly happened while he was employed as a Blaine police officer in 2011. Federal court records show Langton allegedly used excessive force when arresting a Blaine man without probable cause. The case was later settled out of court and dismissed. 

His arraignment hearing is scheduled Friday, August 12.

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic or sexual violence, please call the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) 24-hour hotline at 360/715-1563 or 877/715-1563. 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. Brigid Collins Family Support Center, a Bellingham-based nonprofit working to end child abuse, can be reached at 360/734-4616 and brigidcollins.org.

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