NARROWS, Va. (WDBJ) – A 19-year-old Narrows man is in jail on charges of soliciting a minor after he thought he was texting a young girl, and court documents reveal the person he was texting was a decoy from a vigilante group.
Shawn Haga has been charged with soliciting a minor after he thought he had been texting a 12-year-old girl about sex for months. In reality, he was texting someone from the group “Predator Poachers.”
Alex Rosen, a member of Predator Poachers, said the group poses as minors online to catch predators.
“We pose [as] minors online and predators from across the country message us under the assumption that we’re minors. And then they say a lot of gross things and we approach them in person. We hope to get them to admit to that plus more and then we turn the evidence over to law enforcement,” Rosen said.
Rosen said Haga would initiate conversations about sex and ask to meet for the purpose of having sex.
“We are posing as prepubescent children for a specific reason. So we catch straight-up pedophiles, no question about anything else. And [Haga] admitted to everything,” Rosen said.
Rosen’s group confronted Haga in December, recorded the conversation and took it to police the next day.
Court documents say officers then talked to Haga. He admitted sending the messages.
Haga is being held in the New River Valley Regional Jail, awaiting a bond hearing.
“I hope the judge keeps him on no bond. These predators are known to keep offending even when they’re on bond,” Rosen said.
Haga’s attorney told WDBJ7 he believes the bond hearing will reveal important details about his client’s mental abilities and background relating to this case.
The bond hearing is set for Wednesday.
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