Kentucky volunteer group uses decoy accounts to bust child predators

Yahoo

14-05-2025

Editor's note: Details of the story may be disturbing to some readers.
LANCASTER, Ky. (FOX 56) — Within the last couple of weeks, two men have been arrested and charged after planning to meet with teenage girls in Lancaster who ended up being decoys in a sting operation.
The operations were led by a new group that works to track down child predators.
According to court documents, 40-year-old Jeffrey Poynter believed he was meeting up with a 14-year-old girl last Saturday after exchanging several messages online.
'They were fully planning on having an intimate moment,' said a volunteer with the group who wished to remain anonymous.
Instead, he was met by a representative with a new group called 'KY Predo Poachers.' The volunteer explained to Poynter that it was really them he had been messaging the whole time.
'There are groups like us all over right now,' he said. 'It's truly an epidemic what's going on right now.'
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Kentucky volunteer group uses decoy accounts to bust child predators
Another volunteer with the group, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they set up decoy accounts on social media sites such as Facebook, posing as underage girls.
'One decoy account in itself currently has 550 friend requests sitting in it in just the last two weeks of older men,' she said.
Once a person reaches out, they begin messaging back and forth. Investigators said some of the messages are sexually centered, and some even send nude photos.
Group members said they make the age of the decoys clear, but they are sent inappropriate messages anyway.
'So, they know from pretty much the very beginning, within the first few messages, that we are 14, 13, underage girls,' the volunteer added.
After about a 45-minute interview, the video shows Poynter was taken away in handcuffs by Lancaster police and put behind bars.
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Kentucky volunteer group uses decoy accounts to bust child predators
Brandon Hensley, 37, of Georgetown, was also arrested for similar reasons about a week prior. Both face charges, including unlawful transaction with a minor.
'Our whole goal really is to protect children from social media. And the people in social media,' she continued.
Group members said they also hope to use their experience to help parents learn how to monitor their children's social media accounts.
'It is really important to make sure that your kids trust you. And they feel like they can open up to you. Really, in the end, that's what it is. You know, that's what we need as parents, is for our children to be able to trust us,' the volunteer concluded.
We reached out to the Lancaster Police Department for a response, and the police chief sent back a statement saying, quote, 'While I'm sure their intent may be good, I do not condone any civilian vigilantism.'
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