The co-founder of Intelius avoided jailing Tuesday when a judge denied a request by federal prosecutors to have him locked up pending his trial on a charge of lying to a grand jury.

John Kenneth Arnold admitted to contacting a stripper who is a witness in his case, and prosecutors requested that he be held in custody because of the matter.

Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida declined to have Arnold jailed, instead putting him on electronic monitoring.

Prosecutors say the Intelius executive vice president lied by testifying that he never engaged in sex acts with dancers at Rick’s strip club in Seattle.

Arnold faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. His testimony was part of a racketeering investigation of Rick’s owner Frank Colarcurcio, Sr.

Arnold was arrested in late January following an indictment, but a judge ordered him released on his own recognizance with a trial date set for April 5.

According to prosecutors, Arnold recently contacted a witness in writing and made travel plans that dovetailed with the woman’s pre-existing lans. He was arrested Feb. 4 for the matter.

Arnold’s lawyer reportedly argued that there was nothing threatening about the letter, and that his client had become good friends with the strip-club employee.

Intelius is a Bellevue-based company specializing in public-records searches.