TORRINGTON – A local Connecticut father hides his identity to expose potential online predators.
The founder of PopSquad which stands for “Prey on Predators,” refers to himself as “Incognito,” and said he’s caught teachers, a former assistant dean and now a former school photographer.
In video No. 46 posted to the Prey on Predators website, “Incognito,” meets up with a man who admits to being a former school photographer.
“Incognito,” said the meet up in Farmington follows text conversations for a few days, pretending to be a 15-year-old.
“He invited a 15-year-old to his house at 1 o’clock in the morning, and that’s not okay by any means,” Incognito said. “When I said, do you know what you did is illegal? He said, oh yeah I work in the school systems.”
National Photography company Lifetouch has confirmed the man in the video was a former employee. Writing in a statement:
“We are concerned and take very seriously the fact that one of our former employees is under investigation for activity that took place on his personal time away from work.
When we were notified of the allegations on May 30, 2017 we immediately reached out to the authorities to offer our full assistance and the employee was suspended. He was subsequently terminated on May 31, 2017. The employee, who passed an extensive background check only worked for Lifetouch for eight months, and was always scheduled as part of a team of photographers at all photoshoots which were primarily in Connecticut with the exception of a sporting event in Massachusetts and one session in New York.
Our number one concern at Lifetouch is for the safety of every child we photograph. It is a Lifetouch practice to have parent/teacher helpers present during photography sessions so photographers are never alone with students. Photographers are also not allowed to touch students. Again, we are very concerned about these allegations, we take them very seriously and will cooperate fully with all parties to assist in any way possible.”
The video has since caught the attention of the Torrington and Farmington Police departments. Farmington police said Torrington detectives are handling the investigation and are enveloping the small piece that occurred in Farmington into their case.
Since appearing first on FOX61, Popsquad is gaining national attention appearing on Crime Watch Daily with famed predator hunter Chris Hansen.
“Whether they get convicted or not, it goes toward my main goal which is being able to approach legislation and my only point is, not enough is being done,” Incognito said.
Popsquad’s videos have led to an investigation into a former Plainville teacher and the arrest of a West Hartford man who was a former assistant dean.