MIFFLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHP) — Lewistown police are addressing community concerns and “some misinformation” after a social media video appears to show an officer telling a man admitting to texting with a minor to “get going.”
According to a Facebook post made in response to a confrontation shared by YouTuber JiDion, who posts content online related to catching alleged predators.
In the video shared on JiDion’s TikTok page, the clip begins with the YouTuber telling a Lewistown officer that he’d like to report an incident and that the man next to him came to turn himself in.
The man in the video is then seen saying to the officer:
I was talking to a minor.
I did horrible things. I said some horrible things.
After the officer asked the man what time it happened, he then told the man to “get going” multiple times.
The officer and JiDion then go back and forth regarding how the county handles vigilante predator catchers.
“Your county stuff, it doesn’t matter how they handle it. They have to handle the law, and the law is, attempt, you can arrest,” JiDion said.
The video, which has since gained over a million views, prompted the police department to respond, saying a person can only be charged with unlawful contact with a minor if they intentionally contact a minor or a law enforcement officer acting as a minor.
The police clarified that others, including child predator vigilante group members, are not addressed in the aforementioned statute, and any evidence they gather is inadmissible in court.
“I can assure you this department takes the issue of child sexual predators very seriously and officers have made many arrests for sexual crimes against children,” the department wrote.
The department confirmed it is also conducting an internal investigation surrounding the officer’s actions to determine if he followed established protocols and procedures already in place.
Regarding the “incident,” the department said it will converse with the district attorney’s office to determine if additional steps should be taken.
The department has previously come under fire for similar situations, like an incident back in 2025, when the department said a civilian communicating with someone pretending to be a minor is not a chargeable offense.
In Pennsylvania, civilian predator catchers have become a divided topic—with some local police departments and county district attorneys agreeing to work together while others deter people from taking the law into their own hands.
Groups like 814PredHunters had even been hit with a lawsuit over their methods, with one convicted sex offender claiming entrapment.
