ANSONIA – A Naugatuck man called out by an online predator hunting group admitted his crime on the spot, according to an arrest warrant.
Roger Pratt, 36, was arrested May 15 and charged with first-degree possession of child sex abuse material, a felony that could land him in prison for five years.
Police were called to Pratt’s workplace in Ansonia on March 27 by “Douglass King, Jr.” (a pseudonym) from the “Predator Poachers of Long Island,” a group whose videos have been featured on the “Louder with Crowder” podcast.
As part of his “predator poaching,” King said he “travels the local area attempting to lure and catch child predators.”
Another member of the “Poachers,” using a fake Facebook profile of a thirteen-year-old girl named “Heidi,” had struck up an online conversation with Pratt, King said. That conversation started in February and lasted for over a month, the warrant quotes King as saying.
During that month, Pratt asked the fake profile “sexual questions which included pictures of his penis,” the warrant states. “Heidi” states her age several times.
Eventually, Pratt asked to meet up with “Heidi” for sex, according to the warrant.
The meetup was scheduled for March 27, but the Poachers surprised Pratt by showing up with a video recording device and asking him questions about his previous communications – a technique made famous by the “To Catch A Predator” segments of “Dateline NBC” in the early 2000s.
Officers arrived after King called them. King handed police printouts of the conversations.
Pratt handed over his phone to an officer and spoke with the officer in a police car, according to the warrant.
Pratt said “he had approximately 50 images and videos (of child pornography) on his phone,” the warrant states. He also allegedly admitted to speaking with the fake profile under the assumption that it was a 13-year-old girl.
“I f–ked up,” the warrant quotes Pratt as saying.
Police got a search warrant for Pratt’s phone on April 22. A search the next day uncovered 105 videos and 96 images of child sex abuse material, according to the warrant. Most of the images were of children between ages 2 and 10.
The arrest warrant was written by Ansonia Det. Mark Clifford and signed May 6. Pratt was arrested May 15.
Following the arrest, Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch warned against private citizens conducting criminal investigations.
“While the actions of the group to identify and expose child predators is commendable, the Ansonia Police Department does not recommend private citizens confront someone they suspect, but rather reach out to the law enforcement agency where the suspect resides to report their suspicions,” Lynch said.
The original “Catch A Predator” series ran into trouble around 2006, when one of the targets committed suicide as police and a camera crew arrived at his home. A Texas prosecutor declined to pursue about 20 of the cases in his jurisdiction because of flawed investigative techniques that left scant evidence.
Child predator hunters have become popular on social media, especially on YouTube, where “reaction channels” play the videos for laughs.
Pratt’s next court date is May 29 at Superior Court in Milford.