Police in Ohio say a group of fathers posing online as teen boys seeking sex with older men are not helping police to bring potential predators to justice, reports the Fremont News-Messenger. The Dads Against Predators (DAP) group has posted three videos online, including one showing a man being confronted by a group of men with camera phones asking why he is meeting a 14-year-old boy at a Walmart in Fremont. Two other videos have surfaced. Fremont Police Chief Dean Bliss said that because these meetings were not arranged by police, the suspects are not likely to be prosecuted. Bliss said the DAP videos showed police how easy it can be to trap men looking for sex with younger boys. “We were shocked as everyone else after watching these videos,” Bliss said. “Unfortunately, they brought a brighter light to this current situation to which I do not believe is a Fremont, Ohio-only problem.”
In each of the three videos, the vigilantes posed as 14-year-old boys to get the suspects to meet them. “I want the investigations to be done correctly and to be prosecutable if the case were to go to trial,” said Bliss. “I assure you, we will do something about this problem.” Asked whether the group did good by bringing vigilante justice to Fremont, Bliss said he would not encourage citizens to take matters into their own hands, saying it can jeopardize the safety of those conducting the operation and cause issues when attempting to prosecute suspects.