Lafayette Police arrested a St. Martinville man Monday after he allegedly showed up to have sex with a 12-year-old girl.
It wasn't a child he'd been communicating with, though, it was a group calling itself "Predator Poachers." Police were called to the 200 block of Terminal Drive, where they arrested Jerry Case Jr., 46.
Case was booked with one count felony indecent behavior with a juvenile, computer-aided solicitation of a juvenile, sexual abuse with an animal, and pornography involving juveniles.
We did some research on "Predator Poachers," and founds some media reports about a group of citizens who call themselves that and use the internet to try to persuade people that they are talking to children online. Based on previous stories, the group is run by a Houston man and conducts their operations in different states around the country. When the person shows up to meet the child in person, they video the interaction and post it on social media. Lafayette Police confirmed that the Houston man, Alex Rosen, was involved in this incident. A member of the "poacher" group called police, police said. The incident happened at a car rental business, police said.
We asked Lafayette Police about this practice, and were told that they "do not recommend that civilians conduct predator operations."
Anyone with information related to this incident, is asked to contact The Lafayette Police Department or Lafayette Crime Stopper at (337) 232-TIPS (8477). You can also contact Lafayette Crime Stoppers by downloading the P3 TIPS Mobile App or by dialing **TIPS (**8477) on your mobile device. All callers remain anonymous.
