I've stated here in the past the Facebook encourages vigilante violence, and last year, Facebook made headlines for officially allowing death threats against registered persons or those accused of sexual offenses in their terms of service. When viewing this Backwoods Predator Hunters page, Facebook recommended many other online vigilante groups.
http://www.emissourian.com/local_news/crime/washington-man-confronts-suspected-sexual-predators---posts-encounters/article_50c5d0b4-2e59-11ea-b66b-d33ec4f5ba00.html
Washington Man Confronts Suspected Sexual Predators - Posts Encounters Online
By Gregg Jones, Missourian Staff Writer 21 hrs ago
Cody Harris, founder of Backwoods Predator Hunters, said he and his group partners are trying to make the community safer.
That’s why the group has outed suspected sex offenders, and then shamed then online.
Harris’ most recent encounter with a suspected predator was posted Dec. 28 on his Backwoods Predator Hunters page.
He said he spoke with a man, who thought he was meeting a 15-year-old girl, and who was already wanted by police.
“At least these guys are getting exposure,” said Harris, 28. “This guy had been to prison and police have a better idea where he is with me on his tail.
“I have helped (police) out using my own time and I am not getting in their way.”
The Missourian is not releasing the names of the people who Harris encounters because they have not been charge for the incidents.
Harris has been in contact with about eight people in as many months that he has been posting to the Backwoods Predator Hunters page.
In another recent sting involving Harris, posted Dec. 7, a Washington man thought he was contacting a 15-year-old. In actuality, the person he was messaging, the decoy, was an adult, according to Harris.
A video on the Backwoods Predator Hunters page shows Harris confronting the man at a Washington restaurant. Harris said he has given all of the evidence from the encounter to the Washington police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in case charges could be filed.
But state statutes dictate how sexual predators can be prosecuted, specifically during a sting operation.
Harris noted that he would like to see the suspected offenders held accountable for their actions, but his work still is important even though it has not yet yielded charges.
“I hope there are charges,” he said. “The best thing to do, other than get him charged, is expose him to the community.”
Harris noted that he has spoken to family members of the Washington man who were thankful for the information he provided.
“I had a meeting with his ex-wife’s family,” he said. “They had no idea — he never acted weird or different around children.”
Harris, a Washington native, said he got into tracking and encountering suspected sexual predators to bring more awareness to the dangers lurking online.
“A lot of this is to raise awareness,” he said. “These guys are all over. I want to make a difference in my community. To protect my kids and other kids in the community.”
Harris added that he works with two decoys to expose suspected predators.
“We all do it together — I could not do it without them,” he said. “If we continue to keep pushing, maybe we will make a difference. We have to try.”
Facebook Page
Before he formed the group, Harris would post on a Facebook page called “BackWoods LIVIN,” which is still in operation. It was on that page that he recently encountered a man who allegedly had been stalking and harassing multiple women.
Harris noted that there had not been allegations about the man being a sexual predator, but he still wanted to talk to him.
“I had gotten 50 to 100 messages about him from people in the community,” he said. “Women were saying he was coming to bus stops where they waited for children, their businesses … all of it was bad stuff.
“There was nothing positive to say about this man.”
Harris confronted him at his the man’s home, but to no avail. He said he would try again to confront him, this time in public.
According to Harris, some in the local law enforcement agencies have given their support for his work. He noted that for extra precaution he wears body armor in case the encounter becomes dangerous.
Legislation
In order for the work of Harris, and others like him, to result in charges there may need to be changes to state law.
Harris stated he is reaching out to legislators to discuss ways to change statutes that will allow more flexibility for groups exposing predators.
“That is what we are working toward now,” he said. “I am in the process of getting a hold of them and setting up a meeting.”
State law requires an actual victim, not a decoy, for a crime to have been committed. However, there is an exception for law enforcement officers who portray minors.
RSMO 566.151 states that anyone age 21 or over who “persuades, solicits, coaxes, entices or lures” a child less than 15 years old “for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct” is breaking state law.
However, the statute continues, that the case still can be prosecuted if the “other person was a peace (police) officer masquerading as a minor.”
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