Dangerous social media trend influencing teens to lure predators
PHOENIX - It's a dangerous social media trend alarming Valley police.
Teens are carrying out their own investigations to catch a predator and Scottsdale Police say they had two cases in one week.
Teens in both cases admitted to being influenced by Instagram and TikTok. Now, officers feel they need to warn parents before it's too late.
Just like ‘To Catch a Predator’
Sergeant Allison Sempis of Scottsdale Police knows that teens engaging in risky behavior isn't anything new, but the new social media trend is nearly unparalleled in its danger.
Teens orchestrate their own version of To Catch a Predator and meet up with adults they talked to online in order to extort them or get them arrested.
"We are worried that something is going to happen, that someone is going to get hurt," says Sempis.
Scottsdale Police recently investigated two separate cases. In one, Sempis says teens met up with an alleged predator and demanded money in exchange for not calling the police.
In another, she says four cars full of teens arrived at a meeting site, setting off a high-speed chase with the suspect.
"He took off, the juveniles began to follow after him, threw a rock through a window and broke it, and then the police arrived," she said.
It's not just Scottsdale police either. Last month, Surprise Police worked on a similar case.
"You never know who you are meeting up with"
According to court paperwork, a teen made a fake profile on a dating site and told an older man he was 14-years-old.
The two agreed to meet up at McDonald's off Grand and Meeker where the teen brought his friends to confront the man.
A fight broke out and police arrested 59-year-old Gerard Schwickrath, who's facing a charge for luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
"These things can escalate very quickly," Sempis cautions. "You never know who you are meeting up with. You never know who they are bringing with them, or what their intentions are."
Most cases don't lead to successful prosecution
Sempis warns that in most cases it does not lead to a successful prosecution of the suspect either.
"These cases are very complicated, very detailed and that's why we leave it up to our investigators to do these types interviews and make sure all the probable cause is there, everyone is safe, and there is an arrestable offense."
This is a problem the prosecutors over at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office are noticing too. They also stress the best course for justice is to alert police.