A new trend is happening across the country: regular citizens setting up their own stings to catch alleged online predators who are interested in meeting children for sex.
The vigilantes record their encounters with the alleged predators, and the footage is then posted online to shame the men. Sometimes the videos even lead to arrests.
In Arizona, one alleged predator thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl for sex. Instead, he was met by a 300-pound, six-foot-tall truck driver named Anthony Greene, who set up a group called Truckers Against Predators
"The predators think they're going to meet a child, instead they meet me,” Greene told Inside Edition.
The alleged predator, Mathew Sanchez, later turned himself in and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Green says his stings have led to 20 arrests.
Another vigilante is Shane Coyle, who says he’s exposed more than 270 child predators.
However, police are urging these amateur predator prowlers to leave sting operations to trained law enforcement professionals.
warns agrees the cases should be handled by law enforcement.
"There is no police department in this country that advocates this kind of activity. [The amateurs] don’t know the rule of law, they don’t know the rule of evidence, they don’t know what a prosecutor needs and it is very dangerous," said Inside Edition security expert Steve Kardian.
While some of the citizen stings have led to arrests, most of the men targeted are never charged with a crime. Some have even sued the people who posted their images on the internet.
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