Police arrest D.C. attorney in child-sex sting

Adam Harrison Bryant, of 2828 Connecticut Ave., NW, was charged in federal court with enticing a minor to engage in prostitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.

Bryant, a consultant at a major accounting firm in Foggy Bottom and a member of the Virginia Bar, faces up to 10 years in prison, prosecutors said. He was being held in jail until a detention hearing Monday.

He responded to an Internet classified advertisement within five minutes after an undercover D.C. police officer posted a message on the popular Web site, Craigslist.com, on Tuesday, according to court documents.

The undercover officer told Bryant he had a 13-year-old step-daughter who would be available for sex while the family was in D.C this week. Bryant offered to pay $1,000 in exchange for sex with the child, saying the amount was the "going rate" for sex with a 13-year-old, documents said.

He then sent an e-mail describing the sex acts he wanted to perform and indicated he intended to photograph and videotape the encounter.

The two agreed to meet later Tuesday night, but the officer called back to cancel because he said he wasn't able to comply with Bryant's demands to dress the child in a certain manner, court documents said. Court documents don't describe how the child was supposed to be dressed.

Bryant then arranged to meet the child at Champs Restaurant in Arlington on Wednesday, documents said.

That night, when an FBI agent posing as the 13-year-old girl called Bryant to say she was in a car outside the bar, Bryant demanded she join him inside the bar and comply with specific sexual demand, according to court documents.

Police immediately arrested Bryant, and found the money that he was supposed to pay for the sex, a camera cell phone and a BlackBerry, documents said.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com