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I am sure a lot of you have heard about this group. If not, POP (Prey on Predators) Squad is a movement that aims to protect innocent children from Internet predators. A little info on what they do from their website:
"POPsquad is a movement that protects our innocent children from internet predators. We aim to not only expose these repeat offenders & unknown individuals , but also attempt to “get into the their minds” and find some type of answers for their actions & compulsions. We do not condone or endorse any harm coming to these individuals. Any such violence towards anyone portrayed in our content will be frowned upon. Share the videos, share the posts, help us continue doing what we do, we urge you to not assault them or their property. WE SHARE YOUR DISGUST but violence won’t help! It’ll just let the haters have something to pick apart at!"
The founder of the group is Shane Erdmann (AKA Incognito), and he impersonates minors on social media and sets up encounters with potential sexual predators, confronts and interviews them, then posts videos of the encounter, at times with transcripts of chats and text messages. While his methods have been questioned, many law experts have said his work is legal, and he does get a lot of praise in CT
He also caught two other potential predators. One is a fire fighter for Rocky Hill, the other is a kid with Autism who went to Glastonbury High, and also works there. Though it's pretty obvious he is on the high functioning end of the spectrum.
But here is where it gets interesting. Both communities have expressed their concern and disgust for the firefighter, and the kid with Autism. However, Glastonbury High has barely commented on the matter, although they did suspend the kid from his job. They have also been removing negative reviews about the matter on Google Maps, and on their FB page. Mixed reviews for the firefighter. Many people are demanding he be released and arrested, while a lot of RH residents are saying he would never do such a thing because he has kids of his own. RH Fire Dept has yet to comment on the matter.
I haven't found any news articles on the Walmart incident, or for the firefighter. How do you guys feel about POP Squad? I think the founder has done a lot of good, and the evidence he has gathered on some of this people actually aided in getting them arrested once police began to investigate. I'm all for someone trying to make the world a safer place for children.
The incident in Glastonbury actually represents what is wrong with this group of vigilantes. The kid they went after has autism and it’s questionable what his intentions were. When the group approached the kid at a youth basketball game, he did not know what was going on. Fortunately a security guard was there to stop them.
A local Facebook group went virile over the incident literally as it was happening. People were getting nasty and the moderators were forced to delete the posts to stop it. People kept at it though and one Moderator resigned because of all the nasty messages she received over it. The town is investigating the incident. Will see if there really was something wrong was about to happen. Jay
The incident in Glastonbury actually represents what is wrong with this group of vigilantes. The kid they went after has autism and it’s questionable what his intentions were. When the group approached the kid at a youth basketball game, he did not know what was going on. Fortunately a security guard was there to stop them.
A local Facebook group went virile over the incident literally as it was happening. People were getting nasty and the moderators were forced to delete the posts to stop it. People kept at it though and one Moderator resigned because of all the nasty messages she received over it. The town is investigating the incident. Will see if there really was something wrong was about to happen. Jay
I have to disagree. He pulled the kid out of the gym to talk one on one so that no one else could overhear. It's clear the kid is on the high functioning side. He was able to speak clearly, and he can obviously perform the duties required of him for the position he works in at the school. Having a disability does not excuse him for his actions, if he really was trying to hookup with an underage girl. That is someone's daughter. In the video, the first thing he did was frantically delete the texts. As he did that, he messaged the decoy asking how could "she" rat on him, and it came up on Incognito's decoy phone. Did you read some of his texts?
"Are you a virgin?" "Do you want to meet up at CVS?" "Do you want to go for a walk in the woods?" "Can you tell your cousin not to come so it can just be us?" And don't even get me going on how many times he begged for selfies of the person in sexy clothes.
The security guard was a joke. While he did his job, he is under fire too. I have a friend who works for the school, and GB police received a phone call from the security guard shortly after POP Squad left. They now want to question him as to why it took him so long to call them about the incident. He claims he, "needed to think about it and didn't want to take a chance." The school has placed the kid on leave.
I'm not a fan of them. Shane Erdmann is a convicted drug dealer who was sentenced to seven years in prison. I have not heard of a single conviction gained from his videos. It is all about shock value for him. I have a feeling he entraps a lot of people using underhanded methods that, of course, he does not talk about in the videos.
At first glance, this guy seems like a law enforcement wannabe who is doing work that can be dangerous. The fact that he’s meeting - and confronting - people in public areas puts not only them, but innocent bystanders who have no idea what’s going on, in unnecessary danger. For that sole reason, I don’t agree with what he’s doing. Let law enforcement agencies, who have resources, protection (for themselves and public) and know the legal process and requirements handle cases like this.
That being said, he’s doing essentially what law enforcement cannot. He’s not bound by any entrapment laws. He doesn’t have to read them Miranda Warnings before questioning them. That’s how he’s getting convictions of these monsters, even without going to trial. He’s gotten quite a few, to my understanding. Defense attorneys love police agency initiated stings, because their i’s must be dotted and t’s must be crossed. Basically, it has to be perfection, and that’s very difficult to do.
In the case of the Glastonbury kid; for some reason, people think just because someone suffers from Autism they are completely exempt from being charged with a crime. For that to be the case, they need not understand the nature and meaning of their actions, and that their actions were wrong. Because of how that played out in Glastonbury, specifically that I’m certain he knew what he was doing and that his actions were considered wrong in the eyes of the law (and societal norms), he should absolutely be treated the same way as anyone else.
Either way, I’m never a fan of people playing police, or being confrontational with strangers - especially in the presence of others. For that reason, I don’t agree with what he’s doing.
“Beyond Bristol, groups like POPSquad have met resistance from law enforcement agencies concerned that untrained civilians — many with criminal records of their own, like Erdmann — are confronting targets in stings that may threaten public safety and have unintended consequences.
"It’s detrimental to what we're trying to do,” said David Frattare, Ohio’s director of state investigations for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a national group of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that investigate online child sexual exploitation. “We spend an inordinate amount of effort to train officers to conduct these investigations in a secure and safe way that will maintain the evidence and end in prosecution."
I haven't found any news articles on the Walmart incident, or for the firefighter. How do you guys feel about POP Squad? I think the founder has done a lot of good, and the evidence he has gathered on some of this people actually aided in getting them arrested once police began to investigate. I'm all for someone trying to make the world a safer place for children.
I personally applaud them. Might not be a good idea to approach them, but definitely expose them and report them.
Why are people shock that a firefighter got busted? Just because you hose down fire as your job, doesn't mean you are not capable of other evil things.
One's profession means nothing when it comes to pedophiles. I guess some people learned nothing from the church scandal.
I personally applaud them. Might not be a good idea to approach them, but definitely expose them and report them.
Why are people shock that a firefighter got busted? Just because you hose down fire as your job, doesn't mean you are not capable of other evil things.
One's profession means nothing when it comes to pedophiles. I guess some people learned nothing from the church scandal.
Some professions are held to a higher standard, so it’s more shocking/angering when they’re accused of certain crimes. Firefighters, teachers/school faculty, police officers, paramedics. I get the shock in response to a firefighter being accused over a bartender at a local joint.
Some professions are held to a higher standard, so it’s more shocking/angering when they’re accused of certain crimes. Firefighters, teachers/school faculty, police officers, paramedics. I get the shock in response to a firefighter being accused over a bartender at a local joint.
Higher standard? The people you are holding to a higher standard is probably laughing at y'all.
While you are holding people like teachers to a high standard, you will continue to hear about teacher/student relationships.
They are held to a higher standard because some people like to kiss their ass and think they are saviors or something. When in reality, they are just doing their job just to get a pay check.
I m not shock at all if a firefighter is accuse over a bartender. Pedophiles have no boundaries, they come from all backgrounds. Like I said, just look at the church scandal.
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