An elementary school teacher in Wading River, New York is being investigated after he allegedly admitted on-camera that he had been exchanging sexually explicit text messages with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and asking her for sexually explicit photos.
The teacher was suspended immediately after the allegations surfaced, according to the New York Post. His name has not been released publicly at the time of publication, and he had not been charged with any crimes.
“It has been brought to our attention that a teacher at Wading River School has been caught on a livestream platform sharing disturbing remarks,” the school’s superintendent said in a letter to parents.
The man allegedly made his confession to the Long Island Predator Poachers vigilante group, who confronted him about his communications.
The girl the teacher was allegedly talking to was actually a decoy social media accounted created by the vigilante group. According to the video captured by the group, the man allegedly made inappropriate and explicit remarks to what he thought was the girl.
The Suffolk County Police confirmed to the New York Post that it is investigating the teacher, but declined to provide further details.
The Independent has requested comment from the Suffolk County Police Department.
Online content creators have found fertile soil in the "pedophile hunter" genre. Numerous groups across the country — many of which film their exploits — have taken up the cause of "hunting" pedophiles, though their tactics and efficacy have been called into question.
The Long Island group appears to have simply approached the teacher and talked to him before police arrived to question him, but other groups can be reckless — which can affect a prosecutor's ability to actually bring a case against a suspected child abuser — or in some cases sadistic and violent.
According to the New York Times, one vigilante — going by the name "realkuukika" — broke into the home of a 73-year-old man in Pennsylvania, bound him, and beat him with a hammer. The vigilante claimed he had caught the man trying to solicit sex from a 15-year-old boy. He also filmed the man's credit card and share the number with his thousands of viewers.
Since 2023, there have been more than 170 violent attacks by vigilante pedophile hunters, according to the Times.
