Well-known GOP activist held in sex-predator sting

Larry Corrigan, a well-known activist in local Republican politics as a backer of U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng, was arrested Wednesday in an Internet sting for allegedly trying to arrange sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Corrigan was the director of financial operations at the prosecutor's office for more than 25 years and was deputy treasurer in Reichert's 1997 and 2001 runs for King County sheriff. He was also a supporter without an official role in Reichert's congressional campaigns.

According to the Seattle Police Department, Corrigan, 54, of Seattle, was chatting online with an undercover police officer who was posing as a 13-year-old girl when he agreed to meet the minor at a Capitol Hill video store on Broadway for sex.

He was booked into King County Jail around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday for investigation of the attempted rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

"We were completely shocked when we heard the news of his arrest," said prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe.

In a statement issued Thursday, Reichert, too, said he was shocked by the arrest. "The charges Larry Corrigan is facing are extremely serious and should be thoroughly investigated. Anyone guilty of such crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law so that our children are protected from the threats sexual predators pose."

A spokesman from the prosecutor's office said the case will not be handled internally and has been referred to the state Attorney General's Office for prosecution.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com