It’s been nearly four weeks since a viral video on Facebook allegedly showed a now-former local firefighter attempting to meet a 15-year-old girl at the Exton Mall. But as police continue to investigate the incident, issues of protocol, legal statutes and jurisdiction have obstructed the path to potential criminal charges.
“We are still actively investigating, but there are definitely some hurdles to climb,” said Towamencin Township Police Chief Tim Dickinson, in a phone interview with North Penn Now.
Dickinson said police became aware of the video on Jan. 8 around 8 p.m. The video, which was uploaded by members of the Pennsylvania Predator Hunters (PPH) Facebook page, shows a 55-year-old married man from Towamencin—whose name North Penn Now is withholding due to no current criminal charges—being confronted by PPH leader “Mike Hunter” while seated at the Exton Mall.
Hunter confronts the man with questions, stating that the man not only engaged in conversation with who he thought was a 15-year-old girl, but added that they had evidence that he had engaged several of the group’s other decoys. No specific references to sexual contact are made in the video, though Hunter repeatedly refers to the man as a sexual predator and states that he has no shortage of evidence.
PPH states that following the completion of their investigations, they turn over all investigative materials to local police and prosecutors. Dickinson stated, however, that the group made no effort to reach out, and it was the Towamencin Township Police Department that reached out to “Mike Hunter” in an effort to gather evidence.
“We had to track him down. He never came in on his own,” said Dickinson. “’Mike’ did eventually come in, and he provided some information, but they didn’t have a lot of information retained, so he said he would return with the rest of it.”
Police would not disclose the contents of the materials that “Hunter” provided during his visit, but Dickinson stated that police have reviewed the materials and they have been in contact with the district attorney.
“What PPH has provided us is insufficient,” said Dickinson. “We’re in the process of gathering information, looking through social media and things like that, but we’re basically starting from scratch. it’s going to be a long and arduous process.”
Dickinson said that the first issue that arose with the investigation is the statute for prosecution, which requires that there be either a real underage victim or sworn law enforcement personnel going undercover as an underage victim. He cited his department’s recent undercover operation which lead to the arrest of Juan Zumba-Castro in January 2019 as an example of what is needed to meet the requirements of the statute.
In that investigation, police had to request the approval of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, and while undercover, they had to meet the requirements of the statute, including determining intent. (Note: Zumba-Castro later plead guilty, and an immigration detainer was filed for deportation.)
“The [PPH] video is definitely concerning, but with everything as it stands, it’s difficult to determine whether a crime has been committed,” said Dickinson. “’Mike’ accuses the man of being a sexual predator, but the only thing he truly admits is that he’s there to meet a girl. There is a lot of innuendo, but that won’t get you into court.”
“We can all sit back and surmise what occurred, but we have to be able to prove a crime was committed,” said Dickinson. “This is the problem with these types of [civilian] investigations.”
And beyond the statute issue lies another: jurisdiction.
Though the suspect resides in Towamencin, the meeting was held at the Exton Mall in Chester County. Additionally, Dickinson stated that PPH uses decoys from around the country, which could open the door to potential federal jurisdiction, should it be determined that a crime was committed and an out of state decoy was used.
“At this point, if our investigation does determine that a crime was committed, we have to look at where the crime was committed,” said Dickinson. “It could be here. It could be Chester County. It all depends. We don’t know where the communication took place.”
Despite the hurdles, Dickinson said his department will continue their investigation into the incident, as they await the second round of evidence to be delivered from PPH.
“If [PPH] had notified law enforcement of the online contact prior to arranging the meeting, we may have been able to do more,” said Dickinson. “Instead, we basically have to start the investigation from the beginning.”
In the weeks since the video surfaced, the PPH Facebook page continued to post videos of other encounters with alleged sexual predators. On Feb. 4, the page was taken down and all links to their content returned with an error message, but the page has since been reactivated and is currently accessible.
PPH has not responded to North Penn Now’s request for comment. Should they issue a statement, we will add it to this article.
See also:
Police Investigating Local Firefighter After Concerning Video Surfaces On Facebook (UPDATED)
Veterinary Technician Accused of Forging Prescriptions in Towamencin
Two Injured After Car Overturns Into Municipal Sewer Storage Tank On Sunday Morning
Woman Charged in Shooting Incident at Whistlestop Park
Investigators Identify, Charge Man Accused Of Sexually Lewd Incident At Starbucks Parking Lot
