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Just a week after Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella threatened to arrest citizens who conduct their own stings, the vigilantes summoned Elmwood Park police to the North Street home of Orhan Sokoli around 3:30 a.m. last Friday, Dec. 30.
They told the officers who responded that Sokoli sent an Uber to a designated address thinking he was having an underage boy picked up for sex at his home after meeting on a dating site and exchanging texts, Police Chief Michael Foligno said.
Shown proof of sexually explicit material and statements from Sokoli, police arrested him based on probable cause, Foligno said.
Sokoli, who has two young daughters, was charged with luring/enticing a juvenile, child endangerment and criminal attempt.
Police sent Sokoli to the Bergen County Jail only to have a judge release him the same day pending future court proceedings.
Amateur predator hunting was initially fueled by "To Catch a Predator" -- a TV series that was canceled in 2008 after a target killed himself -- and has since taken on a life of its own.
In just a single year, the online tracker Preds Exposed reported finding nearly a thousand stings by self-appointed predator catchers across the country -- few if any of whom have no law enforcement or investigative experience.
It's picked up lately in North Jersey, with citizen sleuths posing as children online, drawing out would-be pedophiles and then calling police.
"The scenarios and arrests are then publicized on YouTube, said Musella, the Bergen prosecutor.
The practice isn't only dangerous, Musella said -- it's also legally squishy.
"Bergen County law enforcement strongly discourages this activity, which holds the potential for violence and injury to the individuals involved as well as innocent bystanders," the prosecutor said last month.
"It also jeopardizes the due process rights of potential targets, puts private citizens in danger, and risks involving law enforcement in illegal activity," he said.
Musella also issued a stern warning: "Bergen County law enforcement will file appropriate charges against individuals who violate the criminal law when pursuing these activities."
He also noted that private citizens who lure potential defendants "will be called to testify as witnesses throughout court proceedings as this practice ensures they are witnesses to an alleged crime.
"Also note that individuals who engage in this vigilante activity may also be subject to civil liability," Musella concluded.
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STREET JUSTICE: NJ Vigilante Posing As Child Lures Sexual Predators Into Livestreamed Arrests
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