Thousand Oaks Man Denied Bail in Sex Sting

A Thousand Oaks man who allegedly tried to arrange to have sex with an FBI agent posing as a seventh-grade girl in an Internet chat room was denied bail Friday after his appearance in federal court in Los Angeles.

Authorities said they believe that Michael Scott Baird, 36, a registered sex offender, might have contacted other minors.

FBI agents arrested Baird on Wednesday at a Borders bookstore in Westwood, where he had arranged to meet the ersatz “Ty,” purportedly a Southern California seventh-grader interested in gymnastics.

The agent had e-mailed Baird a childhood photograph of a female FBI employee, saying it was Ty. Baird sent the agent a nude picture of his lower body and repeatedly sent the agent lurid messages, according to an FBI agent’s sworn affidavit.

In a series of instant messages, Baird proposed sexual encounters, and the agent, posing as the girl, responded to Baird’s advances with information such as her underwear size and concerns about contraception before agreeing to meet.

Baird’s attorney, deputy federal public defender Pedro Castillo, was unavailable for comment. Baird is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Baird had been a reserve deputy for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department and had previously been convicted of sex offenses with minors, the FBI said. After his arrest, Baird told agents he was chatting with two other minors, in Louisiana and Massachusetts.

Anyone with information about other possible victims can call the FBI at (310) 477-6565.