Cd'A man, 20, accused of asking 12-year-old for sex

A 20-year-old Coeur d’Alene man was arrested Monday and charged with soliciting a 12-year-old girl for sex.

Scott C. Marquez had used the internet to ask a 12-year-old to send him nude pictures, and he allegedly sent the girl nude pictures of himself, police reports say.

Marquez was charged Tuesday in Coeur d’Alene Magistrate Court on one count of sexual abuse of a child, which can carry a sentence of up to 25 years.

Spirit Lake police were alerted to the case after the child’s mother read a message on her daughter’s Instagram account by Marquez, who allegedly asked the girl to meet him to have sex.

Investigators uncovered a series of sexual conversations between Marquez, formerly of Rathdrum, and the girl after being allowed to view text messages on a cell phone, according to a police report.

Spirit Lake Police contacted the local Internet Crimes Against Children task force to help in the investigation, which eventually led to Marquez’s arrest.

At one point, an ICAC investigator pretending to be the 12-year-old contacted by Marquez, received an image of his erect penis, according to a report.

The 12-year-old had met Marquez through a mutual acquaintance when she was 10 and they had remained friends, police said.

More than a year earlier when he was 19, Marquez had been warned by one of the girl’s parents that he was no longer allowed to contact the child, according to a police report. But the contact continued, police said.

Marquez is in the Kootenai County Jail on $50,000 bail. His next appearance, a probable cause hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to bind Marquez over to felony court, will be within 14 days.