Sheriff: Corrections officer resigns after child predator sting on Facebook

Cameron Knight | Cincinnati Enquirer

After video of a sting conducted by a group targeting child sex offenders was broadcast late Thursday night, a Hamilton County corrections officer has resigned.

The Facebook group Parents Against Predators Nationwide posted an hour-long "exposure" involving a man they called Ryan. The group said the man had exchanged "very sexual" messages with someone he believed was 15 years old.

"The adult male in question was identified as former Deputy Ryan Parker," the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. "Parker was assigned in the Jail Services Section."

Sheriff Jim Neil reported that an administrative investigation "surrounding the disturbing video" will be conducted.

Neil said Parker resigned his position Friday and is no longer employed in his office.

It is unclear if Parker will face any criminal charges.

Parents Against Predators Nationwide described itself on its Facebook page this way: "Working together we teach online safety for your kids, and we expose predators in our streets targeting our children on live stream."

The group states it was founded in July 2018 and works with police departments across the country "to bring down sexual predators."

In the video, Dale Cook with Parents Against Predators Nationwide waited for the man he believes to be Parker arrive at the parking lot of an apartment complex. Once there, Cook walked up behind Parker and said: “She’s not coming, Ryan.”

Cook explains he is conducting a sting and that he's not a law enforcement officer. He then asks Parker to convince him why he shouldn't turn the evidence he's gathered over to law enforcement.

“We can take a walk and talk about it. You can try to convince me you’re not a sexual predator," Cook said.

"I’m not a sexual predator really," the other man the sheriff later identified as Parker replies.

At one point, the man identifies himself as Ryan Parker and says he works at the Hamilton County Jail.

Cook explained the man was communicating with "decoy," someone posing as 15-year-old. Cook's wife, Kelle Cook, also confronts the man and tries to tell him the damage he could cause to young girls.

“You sent naked pictures of yourself," Cook said. "A 15-year-old girl, which you knew she was 15. She told you, right?”

“Right," the other man says.

Throughout the video, the man identified as Parker asks repeatedly for nothing to be turned over to law enforcement.

“I ask that you don’t send this to the DA,” he asks Cook.

“You know, I ask that children, 15-year-olds, don’t get exploited on the internet,” Cook replies.

At one point, the man said he had no intention of acting on anything and only came to the apartment to see if the situation was a sting.

"I made stupid decisions to send those pictures, but I wasn’t going to act on it," he said. “I wanted to see if this was a sting or not.”

Eventually, Cook tells the other man to leave.

"You make me sick,” he said. “You’re a grown man who took an oath to uphold the law. Your job is to uphold the law and you’re out here violating it in the worst way possible.”

Doug Allen co-founded Parents Against Predators Nationwide with Sylvia Hock about two months ago.

Allen said they have been working to meet with Hamilton County law enforcement regarding the Parker case. They plan to turn over all the chat logs gathered by their decoys.

Allen said the "decoys" are mothers who sit in chat rooms and on messaging apps waiting for people to talk to them. He said they do everything they can ensure the conversations are admissible in court and claimed the work has led to a conviction in Louisana.

Allen said the group is working on other "exposures" in the Cincinnati area. He explained that many police departments do not have the funding to support cyber units, and that the work his group does is meant to support police not work against them.

Despite the safety concerns for those doing the exposures, Allen said the volunteers feel compelled to protect children.

"It's a risk we're willing to take," Allen said.

The following video contains graphic language.