Members of Oklahoma Predator Prevention facing felony charges

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Protecting children and exposing predators is the goal of a group called Oklahoma Predator Prevention, but now, some people in that group are behind bars.

As first reported by Oklahoma Watch, the founder Russell Goodwin, along with colleagues Ryan Koch and George Liebsch are facing felony charges.

"They set up decoy accounts to try to catch them and when they engage somebody, then they show up, several of them with cameras in tow and do a live feed and kind of sort of bully and harass them as part of the show," said Ted Streuli, executive director, Oklahoma Watch.

Oklahoma Watch intern Haley Parsley spent months investigating these sting-operations.

"She found out that law enforcement officers really struggle with some of their tactics because they're not trained, they brag about not having to follow the same rules law enforcement has to follow," said Streuli.

Streuli says they also found that many of those that the group goes after are vulnerable.

"Sometimes who are disabled in some way that are not fully aware of what's happening," said Streuli.

The group livesteams their confrontations and Streuli says they've been banished from several major social media platforms.

Three members of the group recently went to McLennan County, Texas, to confront a man, who they claimed to be a predator.

"In the course of the confrontation, he falls, hits his head against the truck and is briefly unconscious," said Streuli.

The Sheriff's Office arrested the man they confronted, but also took action against the Oklahoma Predator Prevention group.

"The sheriff from McLennan County has run into these groups before. They feel very strongly down there that while they certainly want to protect children and pursue predators, they don't believe that groups like this are helping," said Streuli.

Late last week, Goodwin, Koch and Liebsch were arrested separately in Oklahoma by members of a U.S. Marshal’s task force on McLennan County, Texas, warrants.

They were charged with unlawful restraint and exposing the victim to a substantial risk of serious bodily injury. The charge is a third-degree felony in Texas, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

"Whether this serves as a deterrent? Causes them to change their tactics or get out of the business altogether, we'll have to wait and see," said Streuli.

The McLennan County Sheriff's Office says while they are committed to protecting children from online exploitation, "Confronting suspected predators without proper training or proper law enforcement support is extremely dangerous and can result in escalation, unintended harm to the surrounding community, tainted evidence and interference with criminal investigators."

They also discourage the public from engaging in vigilante activities and urge individuals to report any suspected criminal behavior to law enforcement authorities.

The three men are being held in Oklahoma, while they await extradition back to Texas, where they could then bond out.

News 4 tried emailing Oklahoma Predator Prevention, but has not heard back.

Oklahoma Watch also added that during their initial investigation, the group became angry with their intern and left many inappropriate voicemails and emails.

"It seems to us that that falls in line with their tactics and their practice of kind of intimidation is sort of their go to tactic," said Streuli.

For their full investigation, click here.