Man caught in vigilante sting aimed at child predators

🚨 Eric Rooney, 42, told police he was meeting a 13-year-old girl

🚨 He was instead met by members of the group “Predator Poachers"

🚨 Bensalem police discourage such operations by civilians

BENSALEM, Pa. — A man who police say arranged to hook up with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl was met by members of a vigilante group who set up a sting opearation on Thursday night.

Bensalem police said they were notified by the group “Predator Poachers" that they met Eric Rooney, 42, of Philadelphia around 9 p.m. in a apartment on the the 200 block of Knights Road in Bensalem. After the group notified police Rooney told officers he had expected to meet the 13-year-old "girl" he had been having explicit sexual conversations with via Instagram on his phone for the past 8 months.

Rooney was charged with attempted involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a minor, attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, attempted corruption of minors, attempted indecent assault of a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility. He was arraigned and is being held on 10% bond of $500,000 bail at the Bucks County Correctional Facility.

Discouraging vigilantism

Police said that they do not encourage vigilante groups to arrange for confronatations like this an to instead call 911.

"Bensalem Township police has a robust, proactive approach to identifying and prosecuting these types of offenders and has conducted numerous investigations and made numerous arrests for this type of illegal conduct," the department said in a statement.

Predator Poachers is a Houston based group founded by Alex Rosen that conducts sting operations like this across the country. It was not disclosed by Bensalem police how the group targeted Rooney. Video shows Rosen was present for the arrest.

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