(NewsNation) — Civilian groups across the country are posing as underage kids on social media as part of elaborate sting operations to catch online sexual predators, but do these vigilante groups actually help law enforcement?
The adult decoys are using social media to develop a rapport with alleged predators and then set up meetings to catch them red-handed.
However, because they are doing it without the support of law enforcement, the situations can sometimes lead to murky waters when it comes time to take the suspects to court.
Indiana-based nonprofit group Bikers Against Predators is an organization of civilians who have tasked themselves with catching sexual predators. The group’s president, who goes under the alias “Boots,” spoke to NewsNation about the work his team does.
“What we do is we put decoy accounts on various social media platforms, waiting for individuals to reach out to these blind accounts, to what they believe is somebody that is underage. And we let them lead these conversations the way they want to lead them. Most of the time, it’s inappropriate,” Boots said.
“We’ll arrange a meet-up with that minor child. We usually make that time for a time that we can be in that state or country. So we show up. Sometimes, we have live decoys.”
Boots himself is usually on the ground for these meet-ups, filming the encounters, not for views but for law enforcement.
“With teams that bring solid cases, this evidence is undisputable. There’s nothing in there that would say otherwise, that a crime was committed, and that’s why we get a lot of convictions,” Boots said. “We’re not usually turned away because, well, I mean, both what we have and after the interview, it usually stands up in court.”
Boots says his group has caught over 310 alleged predators since 2010. While he is proud of the work his team does, Boots says he wouldn’t use the word “vigilante” to describe himself.
“Everybody says vigilante justice, and we’re not really vigilantes; we’re investigative journalists. We do an investigation, and we submit it to law enforcement in a calm manner. Everything is very professional. And so I just don’t like the word ‘vigilante.’ and it always gives us, I don’t know, it just gives us a bad look,” Boots explained.
“They always say that it takes a village to protect our children, and we understand that law enforcement is short-staffed.”
Similar groups operate coast-to-coast in California, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New Jersey and Missouri. Some operate solo, but many of them are nonprofits, all using these adult decoys to ferret out individuals who target children for sexual abuse and exploitation.
This trend of adult predators enticing children online is becoming a growing threat.
From 2019 to 2020, reports of online child enticements nearly doubled, according to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The victims are overwhelmingly young girls, and 98% of the time, they are being approached by strangers online.
While the motives of these groups may be pure, vigilante justice raises a number of issues for law enforcement.
Earlier this year, the Albany Police Department in Oregon arrested more than 25 individuals based on tips from one of these civilian-led groups.
The department’s chief of police, Marcia Harnden, tells NewsNation that while most of the arrests have led to charges being filed, the process is delicate.
“We have to make sure that we’re meeting local and state laws,” Harnden said. “It’s always a little bit of a danger when you have civilians involved.”
Harnden cautions that the collaboration between law enforcement and civilian crime catchers is only possible if they hand the case off to the police after pinpointing a potential predator, saying, “That’s not what’s happening with these ‘gotcha’ videos.”
Harnden emphasized the difference between intent versus impact when discussing cases like these. She says as predator cases tend to be labor intensive, having a group that does the legwork can be helpful if it is done right, with the caveat that no one should be doing this work to get views on social media.
However, many jurisdictions around the country will not take cases brought in by these civilian groups, deeming it a waste of time to prosecute crimes they say won’t hold up in court.
One precinct in Albuquerque recently sent a warning to these so-called vigilantes to stop intervening in police work.
Still, these groups choose to focus on their successes.
Predator Catchers Incorporated — which operates out of Muncie, Indiana — say their stings have led to 150 arrests and 61 convictions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not comment specifically on civilian groups targeting sexual predators but said it “always encourages the public to be alert online and report suspected child sexual abuse material.”