- 2 days ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:17On the series premiere of Predator Files, it's our first day in Oklahoma City, and a
00:23new member of the team finds danger lurking in a teen chatroom.
00:27Looks so beautiful.
00:28Thanks.
00:29And a predator pursues our 11-year-old decoy.
00:32Do you know what you want?
00:33Yes.
00:34We are going to have a meet tonight where we are selling an 11-year-old girl.
00:37Show me your hands!
00:38Show me your hands!
00:39I created SOSA, a non-profit aimed at keeping kids safe from online sex abuse and exploitation.
00:46And multiple times a year, my team and I conduct undercover operations.
00:50Get out of your vehicle, now!
00:51Let me see your hands!
00:52Partnering with law enforcement, we identify and arrest the world's most dangerous perpetrators
00:58of sex abuse.
00:59Let's go!
01:00Get out of the ground!
01:00Gunpoint felony.
01:01Child prostitution.
01:05These are the Predator Files.
01:15You know, I am feeling good, but I'm always nervous.
01:21One thing that really sets SOSA apart is unlike vigilante groups, we work with law enforcement
01:25from the very beginning.
01:27And that means that all the evidence that we collect is prosecutable and has led to our
01:31100% conviction rate.
01:32There's also always this concern that if we've been to a place so many times there's this,
01:38oh, have we found every perpetrator here?
01:40Obviously that's not the case, but it's always like, who's looking out for us, not just the
01:46other way around?
01:47I think what we need to do is do a rundown of all of our decoys.
01:50Where we're going to have them active, all the different platforms.
01:54A decoy is a minor portrayed by a member of SOSA's staff.
01:58At SOSA, we refer to potential perpetrators as ACMs, adults contacting minors.
02:05When one of the adults interacts with a decoy, they fully believe they are messaging a child
02:10or teen.
02:11And when the conversations turn sexual, crimes are committed.
02:17So right now we're dressing four bedrooms.
02:20Every little detail is actually very important because when we're doing a video call with
02:23a perpetrator, they are analyzing this.
02:26If one detail looks suspicious or has the wrong name, then it can blow the entire thing.
02:33ACMs will ask for explicit photos and videos, engage in sexual conversation, or set in-person
02:40meetups with our decoys.
02:43For this operation, SOSA will have five days to deploy five decoys as we engage with ACMs
02:51in Oklahoma City.
02:52I think that when it comes to a brand new school year, you've got a lot of vulnerable kids that
02:56are trying to make connections.
02:58Maybe they're online more.
03:00My concern is that there are people that I want to kind of capitalize on those feelings.
03:04Oh!
03:06Oh my gosh!
03:07How much?
03:08New to SOSA for this op is Arielle Winter.
03:11An actress by trade, Arielle starred for years as Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom Modern
03:18Family.
03:19Growing up as an actress in Hollywood, she was exposed to the dark side of celebrity and the
03:24world online from a very young age, which is part of the reason she's offered to volunteer
03:28for SOSA.
03:29On this op, she'll put her experience as an actress to use by becoming a decoy.
03:35I started working with SOSA earlier this year.
03:38I contacted them and they had me come on an op in March and it was incredible and I'm
03:43in such awe of the work they do and just honored that I get to work with them.
03:47Arielle had reached out to me because she had watched our show.
03:50She had seen the work that we do and she is really passionate about it.
03:54She could be doing a lot of other things right now and she's here unpaid.
03:57I just feel really fortunate to have somebody that's so passionate join us.
04:02Alright, I'm gonna see if Snapchat lets me in.
04:05While Arielle prepares for her own decoy work, we check in on Ellie, our 11-year-old decoy.
04:12Ellie is a child whose own mother sells her for sex online.
04:17Children all over the country are brokered on mainstream websites and apps, often using
04:22coded language.
04:24For this operation, I will play a mother looking to sell her own foster child by the hour.
04:31Jordan will play 11-year-old Ellie.
04:33And there's one man with immediate interest in our 11-year-old decoy.
04:48Oh, he's about to call.
04:50Alright, guys, we're gonna get a dirty call. We need quiet, please.
04:55He has said that he tried to do this in the past with a real girl and the mom ripped
05:00him off.
05:01So that's why he's wary.
05:07Hello.
05:08Hi.
05:09Hi.
05:10What's up?
05:11Just going home from work, wash up.
05:16Nice.
05:17I saw your post from a couple of days ago, maybe a week ago.
05:21Okay.
05:23Very interested.
05:25Obviously, we both still have doubts, I guess you want to call it that.
05:31I mean, it's a touchy subject, obviously.
05:35So how can we make it to where we can trust each other?
05:39Yes.
05:40Well, we both have a lot on the line, but I think, ultimately, we both have a lot to gain,
05:47too.
05:49Yes.
05:52Do you know what you want?
05:55Yes.
05:56Yes.
05:57All right.
05:58Well, let's talk about it, because there are some things that I want to be careful about,
06:01too.
06:02Of course.
06:04Have you done this before?
06:07Like, successfully, I mean.
06:09Yes, but not to that extent.
06:11You know, hours and hours.
06:13No, it was kind of like a flash or a touch.
06:17Okay.
06:18Well, how old was she?
06:19A couple of years.
06:21Younger.
06:22Younger than 11?
06:24Yeah.
06:26It was a friend's kid.
06:29Okay.
06:30And the friend just let you, or they didn't know?
06:33Didn't know.
06:34Yeah.
06:36Well, did the kid like it?
06:39I think so.
06:40Yeah.
06:41Two or three times.
06:42But then again, how much do they know?
06:46How about location?
06:48I mean.
06:48Well, we can do, I mean, we can do like our, we can do like a motel.
06:53Well, is it by the hour or what is it by?
06:56Yeah, by, by the half hour.
06:59Then do you know what you're talking about?
07:01Half hour?
07:02Like, you know, 125.
07:07And obviously an hour would be?
07:10An hour.
07:11I could do, you know, 200.
07:13Okay.
07:14So you just want touching?
07:17Yes, for sure.
07:18Okay.
07:20Oral?
07:24More than likely.
07:25Okay.
07:26Which way?
07:28Probably both.
07:29So you want to do a half hour or the full hour?
07:32The full hour.
07:34Okay.
07:35When?
07:36Like after eight.
07:37I could do after eight.
07:39Okay.
07:39But, but I would need to know for sure because, you know, I get if you're feeling a little weird
07:44about it and that's okay.
07:46But just, it's like a yes or a no.
07:51It's a yes.
07:57All right.
07:58Look alive.
07:58We need to pull up some maps.
08:00Here's the deal.
08:01We feel with some decent certainty that we are going to have a meet tonight where we
08:05are selling an 11 year old girl.
08:07Worse, he also talked about having an experience doing this before with his friend's eight year
08:13old.
08:13We have to pick out a motel and it has to be one where we can get there pretty quickly
08:18because this guy is probably going to do counter surveillance.
08:22All right.
08:23So we've got this guy that we're calling the buyer.
08:25He is interested in purchasing time with this 11 year old.
08:28Now we're talking about meeting at a motel and what we need to do is find the right
08:32motel.
08:32When you have a buyer like this, we're not showing faces.
08:36He doesn't know what I look like.
08:37We don't know what he looks like.
08:39We're not going to know what he's driving.
08:40People are going to be coming in and out of this motel.
08:43Those are all the things that make this definitely more dangerous.
08:47Our goal now is to find a motel that gives us the best possible advantage.
08:52Jordan and I arrive at a local motel where in just hours, a 40 year old man plans to purchase
08:59sex with an 11 year old girl.
09:01200 to the top floor, 100 to the bottom floor.
09:03Staircase here.
09:05All right.
09:05Let's see if we can get a room.
09:08Top floor.
09:09Hey, we're just looking for a top floor room.
09:11Yeah, we can do that.
09:13Are you anxious about it?
09:15Yeah.
09:16No matter how sure we feel, you never know if he's going to show up.
09:22All right.
09:22Now I'm going to tell him.
09:26He said, okay.
09:28Great.
09:28Sounds like it's on.
09:30With the meet booked with the buyer for later this evening, Arielle prepares to launch
09:35her 12 year old decoy, Everly.
09:37It will be her first work as a decoy with Sosa.
09:40So this is actually pretty important, even though it seems like such a silly thing.
09:44You know, just taking pictures in your bed as a child, but to somebody else online, this
09:50is not somebody who is a cop behind a screen because there's an actual bed and there's
09:55a background.
09:56And this all just helps us sell the character as an actual child, as this person, Everly,
10:01who is 12 years old.
10:02It's definitely jarring and hard to go through life knowing that the bad guys don't typically
10:08look like bad guys.
10:09I grew up in the industry.
10:10And so for me, none of this is like jarring or shocking.
10:13And that's part of the reason I wanted to work with Sosa is like, I've been this kid
10:17online a million times over.
10:19Um, I have that experience like real life experience with that, but it has definitely influenced
10:24from a child, just my whole life of looking at people in a very, very weary way.
10:35It absolutely is cathartic to go through this after my experiences for sure.
10:40It absolutely feels like a small part of me.
10:42Like my inner child heals a little bit every time I see somebody unable to do this to somebody
10:50else.
10:52As soon as Ariel's decoy is put online, she's inundated with messages.
10:57Many men retreat upon confirming that she's 12 years old, but one does not.
11:30Um, we're supposed to be ready to go.
11:31We'll be here in six minutes.
11:32Good.
11:32Great.
11:34Ariel has just minutes to prepare for her first interaction with an ACM.
11:39Video calls are high stakes.
11:41Most ACMs will be hypervigilant, looking to stay out of prison and hunting for even the
11:47slightest hint that we aren't who we say we are.
11:50The team catches her up on the conversations they've had with the actor.
11:55He's assured you that, um, he'll be very gentle.
11:58He'll use a condom if you want, or if you don't want, then he'd like to not use one.
12:05Okay.
12:06All right.
12:06Right away, Jess.
12:08Oh, he's been messaging.
12:10He wants to know if she's ready.
12:12I need you up here.
12:13Let's get you on the bed.
12:16It is really important that you let him drive the conversation.
12:19Mm-hmm.
12:19You are 12.
12:20You can be quiet.
12:21If you don't know what to say, just, like, let him speak.
12:23So, I should call him Daddy?
12:25Like, when I answer the phone, I should say hi, Daddy.
12:27And you say it really quickly.
12:28Hi, Daddy.
12:28Yeah.
12:30All right.
12:30We got to do it.
12:31He's...
12:31Okay.
12:32Which one?
12:33That one?
12:36Hi, beautiful.
12:41Hi, Daddy.
12:42How are you doing?
12:44Oh, good.
12:45Yeah.
12:47Yeah.
12:47Mm-hmm.
12:48Mm-hmm.
12:49Mm-hmm.
12:50You look so beautiful.
12:52Thanks.
12:55You okay?
12:56Yeah.
12:57I'm just nervous.
12:59Yeah, same here.
13:01I haven't really, like, you know, I haven't, like, done anything, so...
13:06Yeah.
13:06Same here.
13:08Well, I mean, I've done stuff, just, you know what I mean.
13:11Yeah.
13:13I'm excited to see you.
13:15Me too.
13:16Yeah, sorry, I'm just nervous.
13:18It's all right, same here.
13:21So, what do you want to do when I get there?
13:25I don't know, whatever you want, I don't know.
13:28I'd just really like to see you for a few minutes.
13:31Yeah.
13:33I'll be easy, I promise.
13:36Okay.
13:38You really want me to teach you?
13:40Yeah.
13:41Yeah.
13:43Well, if you want, I'll kiss you first.
13:46Yeah.
13:47Yeah, I like that.
13:50Yeah.
13:52And then if you want, we could go somewhere and I could teach you more.
13:57Yeah.
13:59Yeah.
14:00That sounds good.
14:02I'm just glad I get to see you finally.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Glad I get to see you too.
14:07Yeah.
14:08You're very beautiful.
14:12You're really handsome.
14:17I won't be really, like, this nervous in person.
14:20I know I'm being weird.
14:22No, it's okay.
14:23It's all right.
14:24I just want you to be comfortable.
14:28You're welcome.
14:29I just want you to be safe and comfortable.
14:31I feel comfortable.
14:34Well, I'm glad.
14:37Okay.
14:39I'll text you.
14:40All right.
14:40I'll see you in a few, beautiful.
14:42Okay.
14:43All right.
14:43Bye.
14:44Bye.
14:48We're clear.
14:50You did amazing.
14:51Excellent job.
14:52Nice job.
14:53The way he talked to me was like he was a fellow kid.
14:59And that is so confusing to a kid.
15:01He's like talking to you like he's going to teach you things like he's literally your kindergarten teacher.
15:06That's really fucked up.
15:07I'm talking to a full grown adult male who is putting this voice on.
15:12He is doing this on purpose.
15:14It's not just who he is.
15:16He is acting.
15:24After the call, we're on our way to meet an ACM we're calling the buyer.
15:29I'll be posing as the foster mom of 11 year old Ellie selling her for sex.
15:35The Canadian County Sheriff's Office is on the way.
15:38These operations are high risk.
15:42It makes it even more so that all we know is this person is a Hispanic male.
15:46We don't know what he's driving.
15:47We don't know what he looks like.
15:49The only thing that we know is is that he is supposed to pay $300 for three hours.
15:55These people are trying to buy kids.
15:59It's 830.
16:02Deputies are stationed in two motel rooms with two more undercover units in the parking lot.
16:07As I arrive with Jordan, she does her best to resemble an 11 year old girl from afar.
16:13Just in case, he's watching us.
16:29He said he's very close.
16:31He's picking up a Happy Meal on a Sprite for her.
16:34Parking lot units, if you see a Hispanic male walking up with a Happy Meal, that will be our target.
16:40Okay, you get on that bed right there.
16:42I'm gonna take a picture from this bed.
16:44If you see him, do not approach.
16:47It's a relay that you see him.
17:00He's coming up the stairs now.
17:02He's coming up the stairs now.
17:04Yeah, I was driving out of red.
17:07He's hitting cab, dodging it up.
17:09He's wearing a blue t-shirt, a Hispanic male, carrying his legs up the stairs.
17:19He's coming up the stairs.
17:44The buyer arrives, a man in his 50s.
17:47He comes prepared with a bottle of lube and a Happy Meal to rape an 11-year-old girl.
17:54Thankfully, his cell phone is unlocked, confirming his identity.
17:58So he left his cell phone open.
18:00Upon opening it, it is the conversation carrying on with RCA.
18:06This is a home run.
18:07He's a predator.
18:08He's already admitted to sexually abusing kids.
18:11He was here with $300 to sexually abuse a kid.
18:14I mean, my God, we saved kids tonight.
18:17Sosa's hard work, we took down somebody that was actively engaging in human trafficking.
18:25Do you live here in Oklahoma?
18:27Yes.
18:28Where do you live at?
18:367420.
18:39So you're not married?
18:40No.
18:41Okay.
18:41Any kids?
18:42No.
18:43So we don't have anybody at home worried about as far as you not coming home tonight?
18:47I've got a couple of roomies, but I don't know if they're going to worry.
18:50Okay.
18:52So what was the plan for this evening?
18:55They wanted me to have relations with their underage daughter.
19:00Okay.
19:00And relations being?
19:02Sexual.
19:03Sexual relations?
19:04Yes.
19:04Okay.
19:04Sexual undercourse?
19:05That's what they were saying.
19:06How much did she ask for?
19:08I'm not sure.
19:08About a couple hundred.
19:09Three hundred.
19:10Three hundred?
19:10I guess.
19:11Okay.
19:11Yeah.
19:13Do you have the three hundred dollars with you?
19:15Yeah.
19:15Where is it at?
19:17I think left pocket.
19:18Left pocket?
19:19I think so.
19:19Okay.
19:20So did you bring the lube with you though?
19:21Yeah.
19:22Okay.
19:22Where's the lube at?
19:23In your truck?
19:24No.
19:25Right pocket.
19:25Right pocket?
19:26Yeah.
19:26Okay.
19:30Was it a happy meal for you or for the kid?
19:33For the kid.
19:33For the kid?
19:34Okay.
19:38I couldn't be more pleased with how it went.
19:40I mean this guy had really terrible intentions and admitted to doing this before.
19:45I am relieved.
19:46This has been a crazy day but I'm relieved that it's gone the way it has.
19:50Actually he's looking at human trafficking charges including attempted lute acts with a child.
19:55With his previous admissions of sexually abusing an eight-year-old, you know, that's just going into evidence.
20:04The fact that we have had this much interest just hours in, I think is telling who knows what the
20:12next few days bring us.
20:17The next morning, back at the decoy house, the actor returns.
20:21Arielle, he's back.
20:23Oh my God.
20:25After cutting off communications for nearly 24 hours, the actor sends a flurry of messages to 12-year-old Everly.
20:32And he makes it clear that he knows the punishment for his crimes will be severe.
20:38He didn't act like he was scared on the call.
20:39He did not.
20:41But he can't control his desire for an underage girl.
20:45Oh, oh, oh, oh.
20:46He wants to see.
20:47Yeah.
20:47Like, oh my God, where's the wig?
20:49I'll get you clothes.
20:53Okay, he just said I added you back on Snap, so he must have blocked her.
20:58Think about what he's doing.
20:59He's committing to have sex with, you know, a 12-year-old for the very first time.
21:05We do need to hurry.
21:08There's definitely a lot of pressure to make sure that you do everything you need to do to get this
21:14guy.
21:14I make or break in that video call.
21:16Like, if they don't believe me in that, it's gone.
21:19All that work they put in is done and we don't get him.
21:23I know how badly this man needs to be taken out of the mix.
21:28And so I just want to make sure that I don't do anything that, like, messes it up.
21:32Because it's so important to get everything right.
21:36Just check and make sure my eyebrows look okay.
21:38So can I see your phone?
21:39Yeah, but at this point, I don't think it matters.
21:41I don't think you're looking at your eyebrows.
21:42I know.
21:43He's not talking about wanting to meet tomorrow.
21:46All right, I have all the evidence, so let me record.
21:59Hi, baby.
22:01Hi, daddy.
22:16Hi, daddy.
22:17Hi, daddy.
22:19Hi, daddy.
22:21Hi, daddy.
22:21Hi, daddy.
22:26Hi, daddy.
22:27Hi, daddy.
Comments