Background: A man collapses and hits his head after several men reportedly confronted him about allegedly speaking online with someone he believed was a minor (KWTX/YouTube). Insets (from left to right): Russell Goodwin, Ryan Koch, and George Liebsch (McLennan County Sheriff's Office).
Three men in Oklahoma are accused of taking the law into their own hands — in the form of confronting and "humiliating" people believed to be sexual predators.
Russell Goodwin, Ryan Koch, and George Liebsch have all been charged with unlawful restraint with exposure to substantial risk of serious bodily injury. The case began as an online solicitation of a minor investigation, authorities said, and it turned into something quite different.
The men — whose ages are unclear — are "affiliated" with the group Oklahoma Predator Prevention (OPP), the McLennan County Sheriff's Office announced. Goodwin is the founder.
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It was August, and the three men traveled to McLennan County "to confront a man at a trailer park that had engaged in an online sexually explicit communication with what the man thought was a minor aged female," the law enforcement agency said. In reality, it was "an OPP decoy account."
Video was taken of the three members confronting the man. The video — obtained by Waco-based CBS affiliate KWTX — "revealed a coordinated effort by the three OPP members to control and restrict the man's movements, including directing him where to stand, corralling him into a secluded area, all the while using aggressive and profane language," the sheriff's office said.
"Dude, I'm trying to give you a [redacted] opportunity here to talk to us and not the police, right?" a man believed to be Goodwin says while looking through papers in a folder.
"Yeah," the man replies.
"If I wanted to [redacted] call the cops, I would have already had them here," the OPP member continues. "Now cut the [redacted], I'm not playing with you no more, dude."
At some point, "the situation escalated to the point where the man lost consciousness" and collapsed, the sheriff's office detailed. The man can be seen sliding down the white pickup truck on which he was leaning, hitting the ground, and then smacking his head on the underside of the vehicle.
"Call the cops," someone says soon after, and the sheriff's office said "only at that point" did the OPP members notify authorities of what was going on.
Through their investigation, the McLennan County Sheriff's Office "confirmed" that the man targeted by the three OPP members "had in fact sent a sexually explicit picture to what he believed to be a minor aged female when in actuality" it was the OPP members.
That man, who was not named by the sheriff's office, was ultimately arrested.
"While the McLennan County Sheriff's Office remains firmly committed to protecting children from online exploitation, they also emphasize the importance of public safety and lawful conduct," the agency said. "The MCSO strongly discourages the public from engaging in vigilante activities."
"Confronting suspected predators without proper training or proper law enforcement support is extremely dangerous and can result in escalation, unintended harm to the surrounding community, tainted evidence and interfering with criminal investigations," they added.
The sheriff's office noted that OPP "follows a trend seen by similar social media vigilante groups" where "decoys" and "catchers" are used to "carry out sting-style operations" targeting people suspected of trying to meet up with minors.
"These confrontations" or "catches" are often livestreamed "with the intent of exposing/humiliating alleged predators, while also generating online content aimed at building a following and monetizing their activities," the authorities added.
They also noted how OPP was described by an investigative journalism organization as a "vigilante group" that targets "intellectually disabled individuals" and can "lead to false confessions and evidentiary issues without legal accountability."
