A state licensed Tri-Cities real estate agent is accused of messaging with a teenage boy about having sex.
Benton County prosecutors charged Carolyn Celski, 38, with communicating with a minor for immoral purposes for a series of messages she exchanged with him in 2022, according to court documents.
The charging documents filed in August say she admitted to investigators that she initially reached out through Instagram to the then 14-year-old and later during their ongoing messaging had asked if he ever had sex.
The teen told investigators that they intended to have sex but they didn’t have a specific plan. They had talked about her picking him up from school but that hadn’t happened, court documents said.
Communicating with a minor for immoral purposes can be a felony or a gross misdemeanor in Washington state. One way it’s considered a felony is if an adult propositions a child online.
Benton County prosecutors could not be reached by the Tri-City Herald on Tuesday about the two-year gap between the start of the investigation and the filing of charges.
Her defense attorney Derric Orr also could not be reached Tuesday. Celski is scheduled to enter a plea on Sept. 9 in Benton County Superior Court.
Celski and her husband Jason Celski, own Celski and Associates, a property management and real estate sales firm. They manage dozens of homes, apartments and commercial properties across the Tri-Cities, according to the company’s website. Jason Celski also has a law firm.
Carolyn Celski is a state-licensed real estate broker, a certification she’s had since 2013.
Social media messages
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office started looking into the messages in December 2022, after Carolyn Celski called Kennewick police Sgt. Ryan Kelly asking for “personal and professional” advice, according to court documents filed Aug. 16.
Kelly coached a sports team with her son and the victim, according to court documents.
She told the sergeant that “she had been texting with one of the players on the team and her husband, Jason Celski, found out about it and left her over it,” court documents said.
Public records confirm the couple separated in late 2022 but then reconciled a few months later.
Court records in the criminal case claim Carolyn Celski told Sgt. Kelly that “she had lost some weight recently and has enjoyed the attention.”
When he asked her about what was in the messages she sent to the teen, she said she didn’t send any photos or “done anything physically with the child,” said the documents.
“The defendant admitted to him that Victim A said something to the effect of asking where they could meet to hook up and the defendant responded with ‘ Car?’ and an emoji.”
Kelly then reported the conversations to deputies to investigate since he and Carolyn Celski live outside the city limits in Benton County.
Kelly also advised investigators that Celski had deleted all of her social media accounts, including her Instagram and Facebook pages.
Court documents say she initially reached out through Instagram, but it’s not clear if the messages were phone texts or Instagram messages.
Sexual conversations
The teen’s parents told sheriff’s deputies that they learned about the inappropriate messages on Dec. 9, 2022, when Celski called them and said she’d been messaging with their son and that the messages from him “were becoming inappropriate” and that “she let things go too far,” according to court documents.
The teen met with a child forensic interviewer the next day as part of the investigation.
He told that investigator that Carolyn Celski sent him a message “out of the blue” on Instagram about a trip the sports team was taking out of town, court documents said.
He said her messages continued after he returned to town. She allegedly asked if he ever had sex, and he said that even though he was a virgin, he wanted to sound cool so he told her that he had, said the court documents.
“Victim A advised he responded to the defendant asking her if she wanted to do it, and she replied, ‘Sadly, yes,’” said the documents.
“Victim A reported that he and the defendant were planning to have sex with each other, but didn’t have a specific plan,” according to court documents. “Victim A advised that the defendant offered to pick him up from school, but that it hadn’t happened.”
The messages reportedly ended on Dec. 7 or 8, 2022, when Carolyn Celski allegedly texted him that she was “out of line” and that they couldn’t talk anymore.
She also asked him to delete her messages, which he did, said the documents.
However, the teen’s parents were able to give investigators some screenshots of the messages between Carolyn Celski and their son, according to court documents. No screenshots were included with the court documents.
When Benton County detectives interviewed Carolyn Celski, she admitted to having the conversation with the teen when she asked if he’d ever had sex.
“The defendant reported she told Victim A that he wouldn’t know what to do with her if he tried and that Victim A responded that she could teach him,” according to court documents. “The defendant advised she couldn’t recall where the conversation went from there.”