Oh look, yet ANOTHER group of vigilante thugs.
McLennan County sheriff’s deputies arrest members of Oklahoma vigilante group that targets sex offenders
Ryan Koch (left), George Liebsch (middle) and Russell Goodwin (right)(Photos: McLennan County Sheriff's Office)
By Joe Villasana and Isabella Quintanilla
Published: Oct. 21, 2025 at 11:19 AM CDT
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Three reported members of the Oklahoma Predators Prevention Group (OPP), an online vigilante group that entraps suspected sex predators, were arrested by the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office after a recent case involving a Central Texas man.
Russell Goodwin, Ryan Koch and George Liebsch were all charged with unlawful restraint-exposure to substantial risk of serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony. The sheriff’s office said two of the members have “extensive criminal histories spanning several years.”
The investigation began in August when the three OPP members traveled from Oklahoma to McLennan County to confront a man who allegedly engaged in an explicit conversation online with whom he believed to be an underage girl.
The “girl” was, in fact, an decoy used by OPP to entrap the suspected sex predator. KWTX first reported this arrest on Oct. 7.
Goodwin’s wife, Crystal Goodwin, says this is something they’ve down many times before. “We see where the conversation goes and then we normally meet up with them and go over the chat logs with them, immediately call police, and hope for a conviction,” she explained.
According to the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office, OPP was founded by Goodwin and follows a trend common among social media vigilante groups that use “decoys” and “catchers” to carry out sting-like operations targeting suspected sex predators.
The confrontations, often referred to as “catches,” are livestreamed on social media with the intent of exposing and humiliating the alleged sex predators.
The livestreams also “generate online content aimed at building a [large audience] and monetization of [content],” the sheriff’s office said.
In August 2025, Oklahoma Watch, a non-partisan investigative journalism group, published an article describing OPP as a vigilante group.
“While OPP claims to protect children, critics say OPP’s aggressive tactics, including targeting disabled individuals, jeopardize criminal cases and lead to false confessions and evidentiary issues without legal accountability,” the sheriff’s office shared in a summary of the Oklahoma Watch report about OPP.
The case involving OPP and the Central Texas man resulted in an investigation that, indeed, confirmed the man targeted by OPP sent sexually explicit photos to the OPP decoy, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators with the sheriff’s office arrested the suspect.
During their investigation, they also reviewed video of the confrontation between the suspect and the three members of OPP.
“The video revealed a coordinated effort by the three OPP members to control and restrict the man’s movements, including directing him where to stand, corralling him into a secluded area, all the while using aggressive and profane language,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The situation escalated to the point where the man lost consciousness, collapsed and struck his head,” the sheriff’s office said, “It was only at that point that OPP members notified law enforcement.”
However, Goodwin says “if you watch the catch you can see that all three of our team members stood a decent space away from him… so it’s still very confusing on how we’re getting unlawful restraint”.
The McLennan County Sheriff’s Office said it remains fully committed to protecting children, but also wants to emphasize the importance of public safety and lawful conduct.
The sheriff’s office is discouraging the public from engaging in vigilante activities. Instead, it urges individuals to report suspected criminal behavior to law enforcement agencies.
“Confronting suspected predators without proper training or proper law enforcement support is extremely dangerous and can result in unintended harm, tainted evidence and interference with criminal investigations,” the sheriff said.
The OPP members were arrested in Oklahoma and are in the process of being extradited to McLennan county.
Copyright 2025 KWTX. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment