Local organization exposing child predators online part of growing 'hunting' groups trend

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (WJAC) — Over the past several weeks, we’ve been telling you about the arrests of would-be child sexual predators who, it turns out, were messaging decoys from a local amateur group hunting online predators.

"814 Pred Hunters" tell us that in less than three months, their work has led to the arrest of two dozen people in our area and beyond. They’re part of a growing community of citizen predator hunters.

But is what they’re doing legal?

They’re similar to what viewers used to watch on Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” series, which worked undercover to expose child sexual predators across America in the early to mid-2000s

But now, with groups like 814 Pred Hunters, it’s gone local.

Since September, 814 Pred Hunters have been on the prowl, leading to the arrest they say of 24 men. All of whom the group said had sexually explicit conversations with someone they thought was underage.

We talked to four of their members, whom we agreed not to name so they and their families could avoid retribution. They say it all began after a close family friend was the victim of a sexual assault.

They tell us they work to create decoys on dating apps. When someone replies back, they move to text messaging, where the decoy says they’re really 15 or younger.

The group said the people that message them can then say no, or they can keep talking. But they said most of the time they keep talking, leading to phone calls and pictures.

When the group feels they have enough evidence they tell the would-be predator to meet them, usually at a public place.

That’s when the group turns their Facebook Live camera on and confronts them.

The group said their encounters can be very stressful at first because they don't know how they're going to act.

From there they usually get the same sequence of answers: it wasn’t them and it’s a mistake, then it was them but they didn’t plan to go through with what they said.

After they’re interrogated by the group, local police are called in and members then hand over the evidence to officers, who take it from there.

Groups like 814 Pred Hunters have popped up all over the country, showing amateurs hunting and confronting these would-be child sexual predators. While viewers are enamored with the chase and the catch, what do the eyes of the law have to say about it all?

Dateline’s “To Catch a Predator” series ran into issues with some prosecutors saying they couldn’t defend pursue the cases given the sting arrangement. It ended in 2008 after a Texas assistant district attorney died by suicide as police and an NBC camera crew entered his home to confront him.

Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan Sayers, who is prosecuting several of the Pred 814 cases, said the topic is one discussed by district attorneys across Pennsylvania.

“It's a concern for myself, for law enforcement, and for other district attorneys on these types of groups,” Sayers said. “There is a value that the groups are providing to society, but it has to be within the confines of the law.”

Sayers said the group’s actions have raised questions with defense attorneys.

“They’re not trained,” Sayers said, “They didn't go to the police academy, they didn't go through continuing courses or anything like that.”

Sayers said some prosecutors aren’t even engaging with these groups because they are, “being vigilantes, in essence.”

Sayers said 814 Pred did reach out to him about what they would do, and while his office is not at all advising them on what to do or not do, he has agreed to pursue prosecution based on their findings on a case-by-case basis.

“We would wish that they would leave it to law enforcement to do this type of investigation,” Sayers said. “At the same time, they're getting results so it's hard to argue with that.”

814 Pred Hunter members said while law enforcement is "awesome," they believe police don’t have the time or resources to do what they’re able to do.

The 814 group said they are armed, and they record the entire public encounter for everyone’s safety and to ensure there is evidence of what happened during the meet-up. They also follow the law by letting the would-be criminal start the correspondence to avoid entrapment claims, and they give the police all their evidence so they can independently verify it.

But not all their cases have gone smoothly. Viewers watched one case where the man they were talking to fled while pushing a stroller with a baby inside, nearly causing the baby to fall out of the stroller.

Still, the group says they will stay on their mission. To catch a predator, wherever they may be at, before they cause harm to a real child.

More information on 814 Pred Hunters can be found on their Facebook page.

Internet safety tips for kids can be found here through the National Children's Advocacy Center.

A parent's guide to internet safety can be found here through the FBI.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfobykrctmnqunpaV6psTPqKqippdisKm1y51kqaqVma61u9GsZKimnJ67pnnPmqmtZZ%2Bbeqi%2BzrCgp59do8KursSrZKieXZ3Cr8DIp55mn6KkwrG%2F