A group aiming to catch people they accuse of being predators posed as a teen and attacked a man who came to meet up, California officials said. Now both they and the man face charges.
On Aug. 16, David Joseph Zimmerman, Kasey Lane O’Donnell and Syrus Deville Durant of Redding posed as a 15-year-old boy and started talking with Keaghan Taft Rivers , according to documents obtained by KRCR.
Zimmerman, O’Donnell and Durant are all part of a vigilante group called “Dads Against Predators,” which was first formed in Ohio in 2020 before other chapters spread across the U.S., officials said.
The Redding-based “Dads Against Predators” Facebook page posted photos of graphic and sexually explicit texts alleged to be from Rivers, along with a video taken during the confrontation.
McClatchy News, which is not linking to the post due to its graphic nature, reached out to the group for a statement on Oct. 1 and was awaiting a response.
In a video showing Rivers, the group can be heard saying “lets just talk.”
Later in the video, the talking turns to yelling before Rivers can be heard saying, “just move out of my way please.”
During the altercation, O’Donnell dragged Rivers off his bike to the ground as he was trying to leave, according to police.
Durant is accused of attacking Rivers by pushing him to the ground and punching his head. All three men then kicked Rivers in the head and chest, police said.
A security guard eventually stopped the fight, police said, and Rivers was transported to the hospital in an ambulance.
Zimmerman was charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily harm, false imprisonment by violence, conspiracy to commit a crime and vandalism, officials said. O’Donnell and Durant were charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily harm, false imprisonment by violence, conspiracy to commit a crime and battery.
Rivers was charged with meeting a minor for lewd acts, officials said.
Redding is about a 160-mile drive northwest of Sacramento.
Law enforcement concerns
Law enforcement officials have warned in the past that vigilante groups such as “Dads Against Predators” may lead to criminal charges against group members or hamper investigations into accused sexual predators.
In 2020, for example, a letter signed by the sheriff and county prosecutor in Sandusky County, Ohio, said two people committed suicide after videos of them were posted online by the Fremont chapter of “Dads Against Predators,” according to WTVG.
“Local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors of Sandusky County and the City of Fremont cannot and will not sit back anymore and watch as DAP continues to parade its form of vigilante justice,” the letter read, according to the TV station. “Its intentions may be well-intended, but their methods and outcomes are improper and unacceptable. The ‘exposed’ individuals may be exactly what DAP says they are, but they also may not be. DAP’s careless and reckless regard for law and order and due process has resulted in the loss of life, and the situation has gotten out of hand.”
And in August, an Alabama sheriff told WVTM that his department is “a little concerned that these people who are doing these social media videos are doing it for the clicks , the likes and shares. Doing it to go viral so they can make money.
“Bring us the phone and let us do a forensic download on it,” Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon added, according to the TV station. “So, we can get all the IP addresses so we can get the phone numbers to figure out who it is, what area it might be.”
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