VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A video shows the moment a 64-year-old sex offender is arrested and accused of trying to meet up with an 11-year-old girl in Virginia Beach.
However, there was no girl, just a group named Predator Poachers.
They had an undercover sting operation on Birch Lake Road in Virginia Beach on September 19, 2024, around 2 a.m.
The meet-up was supposed to involve an 11-year-old girl named Emily at her apartment complex. Posing as the child, a decoy with Predator Poachers said they had been chatting with 64-year-old Rick Horton for several weeks, according to court records outlining the case.
When Horton was parked near a dumpster, Alex Rosen with Predator Poachers appeared and started to talk to Horton in the video.
The discussion continued for about 35 minutes where Horton said he had child porn on his laptop and admitted to speaking with minors online who sent him videos and pictures.
Rosen asked him questions about his life and the allegations.
As Horton was telling Rosen that he was going to smash his laptop and throw it in a fire pit, Virginia Beach Police arrived.
Horton, a registered sex offender was arrested.
Previously, he was arrested for rape in 2003 in Norfolk and faced several charges for not registering as a sex offender over the years. He's now facing 13 new charges for possession of child porn, indecent liberties with a child, and other related charges.
Rosen said Predator Poachers travel the country catching alleged online child predators and filming their interactions with them.
He said over the past five years, he has conducted hundreds of stings like this one and helped make arrests in 46 states.
“I'd say Virginia is actually the best state to do this in. They take these cases the most serious out of any state,” said Rosen.
Critics of the group say undercover stings should be left to professionals and can be dangerous.
Brian Luciano, the Executive Director of the Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association, said his two biggest concerns are for the safety of the civilian investigators and the integrity of the case.
“But obviously anything that takes sexual predators off the street and can help the police do their job, that's a positive,” said Luciano.
Rosen said Horton was surprised when he turned around and saw police standing there.
“We called them after he admitted to wanting to have sex with the 11-year-old girl and child pornography. And of course, when the cops come up, he's going into detail about what he has on his laptop and he has no idea they're behind him, which was great,” said Rosen.
Horton declined an interview with WTKR from jail. He is currently being held without bond.
