Seattle University professor charged in sex sting ran for office in '06

So many people believed in Capt. Andrew Douglas Franz that they ponied up thousands of dollars in contributions for his unsuccessful 2006 bid for a 47th District House seat.

When Canon City, Colo., police announced that Franz was facing eight criminal charges alleging he attempted to have sex with a child under 15, no one was more stunned than those who supported the 41-year-old Kent resident, including gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.

Franz doorbelled for Rossi in 2004. When Franz ran for the Legislature, Rossi contributed to his campaign. So did former Governor John Spellman and former Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman, and both the Eastside Republicans of King County and the King County Republican Central Committee.

Franz lost to the Democratic incumbent from Covington, Rep. Pat Sullivan, with 41 percent of the vote. But Franz's potential as a candidate seemed to be established at least until he was arrested a week ago, not long after arriving in Denver.

According to Canon City police Capt. Allen Cooper, Franz, a military-science professor at Seattle University and a member of the Army National Guard, flew to Denver after prolonged conversations over the Internet with a woman who he believed was arranging sexual encounters with her 13-year-old daughter.

The woman was actually a member of the Fremont County Combined Investigative Response Team, a Colorado law-enforcement unit that focuses on Internet crimes against children.

Cooper said Franz rented a car at the airport and drove to a prearranged meeting place, but instead found a squad of police officers, including the officer who had posed online as the mother.

"If you've never seen an arrest like this go down, they have a deer-in-the-headlights look," Cooper said. "They're expecting one thing, and their world turns completely upside down."

Franz has been charged with criminal solicitation, enticement of a child, sexual assault on a child, trafficking in children, soliciting for child prostitution, pandering of a child, inducement of child prostitution — all felonies — and misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact.

He is being held on $50,000 cash-only bond at the Fremont County Detention Center.

In the meantime, Seattle University Provost John Eshelman sent an e-mail to students, faculty and staff Tuesday night informing them of Franz's arrest and asked the Army to end Franz's assignment with the university.

"It's a very serious charge, and we're all pretty shocked," said Lori Sotelo, chairman of the Republican Central Committee.

Sharon Gilpin, Franz's former campaign consultant, would only say that Franz has yet to be proved guilty.

Franz ran for the House seat partially on his successful military career. He had been a Special Forces captain in charge of the Seattle University's Reserve Officer Training Corps since 2000, and was to deploy back to Iraq for active duty in the National Guard in August.

In his statement to voters, Franz said he would "fight for: accountability in education; resources for our children's success; fair property taxes; common sense transportation solutions; a clean environment; and balanced budgets. As a Special Forces Army Officer I commanded teams in Iraq. I will use those leadership skills to stop partisan infighting and solve problems that benefit all Washingtonians now and for our future."

He served in Afghanistan and Iraq, Rossi said.

Rossi said that while he didn't know him well, Franz "served his country."

"He approached things with a very Army Ranger point of view. That's why this is so out of character for him. That's why it's such a shock," Rossi said Thursday.

Franz, who went to Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Washington, has two teenage children with his former wife.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com