MOSES LAKE — A man from Idaho is facing charges for allegedly possessing several inappropriate photos of a Moses Lake teenager after he was caught by police having sex with the girl in a vehicle in Moses Lake.

Grant County prosecutors charged Brian Giao, 26, of Hayden, Idaho, in Grant County Superior Court with two counts of second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

Giao’s charges stem from a late January incident when the Moses Lake Police Department received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked in a cul-de-sac in the 1800 block of Boardwalk Avenue South. A MLPD officer arrived and reportedly spotted two subjects, Giao and the 15-year-old victim, in the vehicle having sexual intercourse, according to court documents.

Giao told police he met the girl on a dating application and they had been talking for about a month. He said he thought the girl was 18, due to her reportedly stating she was 18 on the dating application, and his actions with the girl were “not forced and were all consensual.” The girl gave police a similar story, but added that she has met other people online before and admitted to lying about her age in the past. She confirmed sending nude photos to Giao and said they had discussed having sex with each other. She also claimed to be the “sexual aggressor” in the incident the officer was called to.

Police seized the victim's and Giao’s cellphones and obtained search warrants for the devices. A few days after receiving the search warrants Giao called the MLPD detective who was investigating the case and apologized for lying. He said he believed the girl was 16 and claimed he had researched the age of consent in Washington and “believed it was okay for them to be together sexually.”

The MLPD received the data from the girl’s two phones in early February, but were not able to view the data from Giao’s phone because of passcode protections on the device. Police reportedly located several nude photos and videos on the girl’s phone, as well as messages between the girl and Giao in which they allegedly discussed sex. In addition, several inappropriate photos of a partially clothed Giao were located on her phone and at least one photo that “appears” to be of Giao’s private area.

Giao ultimately agreed to give police the passwords for several of the applications on his phone and admitted to several sexual encounters with the girl and exchanging nude images.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.