very
very worse for you and start yelling. Or we can go to an aisle
and just talk about why you're
doing what
you're doing."
you're doing." You may recall that
confrontation from January. Three
Fremont men
approaching this guy -- Rafael
Valadez-
Loera -- after they say the
39-year-old was
messaging who he thought to be a
13-
year-old boy.
year-old boy.
In
In this
In this case -- the men took matters into their own hands. But tonight, our 11
Investigates team reports that
police are
condemning these actions...
saying it's
dangerous and harmful to any
potential prosecution.
So we wanted to learn how
authorities track down these
online criminals.
Tyler Paley gives us an
exclusive look... at
what it takes for law
enforcement, to
pursue a predator.
""
""
"" It's
"" It's the viral video that took northwest Ohio
northwest Ohio
by
by storm
by storm late last month. Three men -- Flip Conley, Jay Carnicon, and Joshua
--
encountering who they believe to
be a child
predator.
predator. They aren't law enforcement officers -- simply
concerned
neighbors.
concerned neighbors. "I just made it, didn't even put
a picture up
or anything. I looked up at the
TV and
looked down and I had three
images, some
with penises and pictures. And
then all
three of those guys, I proceeded
to tell them
I was 14 and they were all
down."
"If they want to come to us
after that and
say, 'Listen, we've been
chatting with this
guy.' It doesn't help us at all
when we can't
recover that evidence."
That's a Toledo Police detective
who specializes in crimes
against children -- with
a focus on online offenders.
We're concealing his identity
because of his
sensitive line of work.
"I think it's a terrible idea.
It's reckless and
it's dangerous. The type of
people we're
dealing with, the predators, are
very
dangerous. They have everything
to lose. So
if they suspect that they're
getting in
trouble, they do everything they
can to
get away."
It's a warning that comes just
weeks
after Sandusky County officials
huddled
together and made a strong
condemnation
against these men -- warning of
potential
danger and even prosecutorial
issues.
"Law enforcement officers
responsible for
these kinds of investigations
receive
specialized training, organize
assets,
conduct surveillance and plan
operations."
It's work the TPD detective says
goes
on behind the scenes -- not in
the public eye.
For Conley -- he says that's
precisely the
reason he's taken on this
project.
"Cops really don't force this
issue, do
you know what I mean? Until
something happens, somebody has
to
disappear and get hurt. Then
they want
to jump."
"I've got three kids, man. I'm
also going to
school to be a teacher. So the
youth in my community is very
important to me."
"The children in this community
are of the
utmost importance and their
safety is of
the highest priority to the
Fremont Police
Department."
So while both sides agree on
priorities,
police say the ends simply don't
justify the
means in the case of everyday
folks trying
to nab a bad guy in a public
place.
place.
"The
"The issue is destruction of evidence when, say, a predator shows up
thinking he's going to meet a
12-year-old girl
to have sex with, or a boy, and
all of a
sudden it's just the general
public. All he's
going to do is get back in his
car and destroy
evidence."
The detective wouldn't discuss
any
specific procedures police have
to follow,
but said entrapment was the
issue at hand.
We asked Dads Against Predators
if
they feared their work could go
down the
drain in front of a judge.
They
say they've considered it, but
they're confident
their process would stand up in
court.
Either way, they say it's worth
the risk.
"When was the last time law
enforcement
caught three predators? And
these
guys are getting charged because
I
have evidence and I keep track
of
everything."
of everything." So far -- WTOL can confirm that
only
Valadez-Loera has been charged
with
tampering with evidence.
U.S.
Border Patrol took him into
custody on work
visa violations last month.
While
police admit they've started
investigating
each of these confrontations...
the
behind-the-scenes work hasn't
ever
stopped.
ever stopped. "With the numerous different
websites that
are popping up each day, we have
not seen
an increase but we're becoming
more aware
of how predators are using these
websites."
And that's good news for Joshua
and his
friends -- all of whom want us
to understand
the harsh reality of today's
dangers.
"It's not old guys in vans
handing out
candy anymore. It's guys behind
a
computer screen handing out
compliments to immature
children."
children." The TPD detective tells me it's
possible these men could get in legal trouble
themselves. For
example, if they
were using child pornography to
bait
these alleged predators.
The
group tells me they do
everything quote "by
the book" even though they admit
they're
walking a very thin line.
Dan...
Dan...
Get
Get ready
Get ready if you live in