Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan Sayers said cases brought to law enforcement by predator hunter groups will no longer be prosecuted in the county.
Pred Hunter groups have become more prevalent in the past few years. They are local vigilantes pretending to be underage, trying to catch would-be child predators.
Sayers said his office and local law enforcement originally decided to pursue attempted contact with minors charges but was told they do not hold up in court.
He said President Judge Fredric Ammerman is throwing out charges in those cases because of Pennsylvania law saying contact must be made with someone under the age of 18 or law enforcement pretending to be underage.
“I know there’s a lot of people that support the pred hunters and what they do, but we have to act within the confines of the law,”
“No more pred hunter cases being prosecuted”
Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan Sayers said cases brought to law enforcement by predator hunter groups will no longer be prosecuted in the county.
Pred Hunter groups have become more prevalent in the past few years. They are local vigilantes pretending to be underage, trying to catch would-be child predators.
Sayers said his office and local law enforcement originally decided to pursue attempted contact with minors charges but was told they do not hold up in court.
He said President Judge Fredric Ammerman is throwing out charges in those cases because of Pennsylvania law saying contact must be made with someone under the age of 18 or law enforcement pretending to be underage.
“I know there’s a lot of people that support the pred hunters and what they do, but we have to act within the confines of the law,”
He said he does not support defendants in these cases who are getting charges thrown away, but the law prevents his office from prosecuting.
