A Kent man who is an associate professor at Seattle University was arrested in connection with a variety of child sex crimes on Monday in Colorado, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.Police said the arrest of Major Andrew Douglas Franz, 41, stemmed from an undercover Internet investigation by the Fremont County Combined Investigative Response Team. Police said Franz traveled from Washington to Fremont County in Colorado for the purpose of having sex with an underage girl.
Franz was charged with criminal attempt to commit criminal solicitation, enticement of a child, unlawful sexual contact, sexual assault on a child, trafficking in children, soliciting for child prostitution, pandering of a child and inducement of child prostitution. Franz is being held in the Fremont County Detention Center on a $50,000 cash-only bond.
He is an associate professor of military science at Seattle University known for his special forces background. He was married to a woman last month who neighbors described as being recently out of college.
During a 2006 run for the state legislature, Franz described himself as a proud father of two who was committed to fighting for resources for childrens' success.
Seattle University sent out the following statement to students and staff Tuesday night: "A Colorado media outlet has reported that Andrew Franz, an assistant professor in the ROTC program has been arrested and charged in that state in an incident last week that allegedly involved intended sexual contact with a minor.
Franz was appointed to the ROTC program by the U.S. Army as an employee of a Virginia company called Communications Technologies, which provides personnel to the Department of Defense for ROTC programs around the country.
Franz first taught at SU in 2000 and is scheduled to return to active duty status June 1 for deployment with his National Guard unit to Iraq.
The university is cooperating with Colorado law enforcement authorities in their handling of the case. I have directed the Army to end FranzÂ’ assignment with the university.
Our university policy is clear: we have zero tolerance of any sexual abuse of a minor."