Westmoreland DA criticizes 814Pred Hunters over child predator stings

Nicole Ziccarelli says civilian sting operations jeopardize lawful police investigations and compromise child predator prosecutions.

By PATRICK VARINE
TribLive

The Westmoreland County district attorney on Friday criticized a civilian group that attempts to expose child predators, pushing back against members who accused her of directing police not to arrest a man they recently confronted.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in nearby Cambria County said they told the group months ago that they should not, under any circumstances, continue confronting alleged child predators.

In a news release, District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli called the organization, 814Pred Hunters, a group of “civilian vigilantes” who are ignoring the law and posting controversial videos for attention.

Conflict over recent confrontation

In a video posted to the group’s Facebook page, founder Brian Knepp confronts a Scottdale man on June 25 who, Knepp claimed, arranged to meet up with what he believed to be a child for the purpose of sexual intercourse.

Prior to the confrontation, Knepp said the group contacted Ziccarelli’s office to arrange for the man’s arrest.

In the video, Knepp tells viewers he spoke with a Westmoreland County detective who told him Pennsylvania State Police would be in touch. Knepp claims a state police corporal called and told him that Ziccarelli’s office had directed state police not to respond or arrest the man.

Ziccarelli and state police Troop A spokesman Trooper Steve Limani said that is not true.

“He (Knepp) wouldn’t turn over any of their information to us,” Limani said. “He wants to be part of some sting operation. I think the guy just wants to be famous.”

Ziccarelli wrote that, in speaking with the group prior to the confrontation, her office advised Knepp to instead submit its information to the state police so they could perform a legal criminal investigation.

“814Pred Hunters refused to turn over any collected material and refused to cooperate with a lawful criminal investigation, compromising a criminal case and jeopardizing an arrest,” the DA’s office said in the statement released Friday. “Instead, the group confronted the actor, despite being advised not to do so.”

“Every individual we talk to, no matter where it is, I contact the DA and the police up to a week ahead of time,” Knepp said. “I try to get them the evidence to review prior to a meet being set.”

District Attorney spokesperson Melanie Jones said the group eventually turned over the information it had gathered after the confrontation had already taken place.

Ziccarelli wrote the group’s actions “proved it was never about protecting children or cultivating an arrest — it came down to clicks, views, videos and financial benefit.”

The group’s Facebook page is monetized, Knepp said, but its primary source of income is donations.

Public safety concerns

Ziccarelli wrote that if 814Pred Hunters wants to protect children, taking matters into their own hands is not the way to get it done. “While prospective criminal prosecutions are being hindered by the actions of these civilian groups, public safety is in jeopardy every time they attempt to confront alleged perpetrators,” she wrote. “We do the work every day, and we do not need the interference of untrained, unauthorized civilians.”

At the state level, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday had shared Ziccarelli’s view. “Building criminal cases resulting in charges against alleged child abusers is a complex process that is best handled by professional investigators,” Sunday said in a statement released earlier this spring. “Also, we are very concerned that physical ‘confrontations’ with individuals believed to be child predators creates an unsafe environment for all parties, including other people in the area.” According to Knepp, the man they confronted in Scottdale is the seventh Westmoreland County resident the group has targeted who has yet to be prosecuted by Ziccarelli’s office. “They refuse to charge on our evidence,” Knepp told TribLive. “It happens every time.”

Legal loopholes and dismissed charges

In Clearfield County, 2023 charges against a man 814Pred Hunters targeted were dismissed after a ruling by Judge Fredric Ammerman in a separate “pred-hunter” case. Ammerman stated in his opinion that a charge of unlawful contact with a minor could not be upheld because of the way the statute is written.

Under Pennsylvania law, a person is guilty of unlawful contact with a minor if that person is “intentionally in contact with a minor, or a law enforcement officer acting in the performance of duties who has assumed the identity of a minor.” The law does not include a provision for civilian sting operations.

Knepp said since that case dismissal, officials in Cambria and Clearfield counties have worked out agreements that allow the two groups to work together.

“‘Agreement’ is probably the wrong word,” Cambria County First Assistant District Attorney Joe Green told TribLive. “‘Understanding’ is the better word. We had a meeting three or four months ago with 814Pred Hunters, and told them the only thing we can charge based on the information they gather is attempting violations of the law.”

Green said Cambria officials told Knepp that the best course of action was to bring the information they had gathered to police or prosecutors, who can then initiate their own, fully legal investigation — and that under no circumstances should they continue to confront people.

“Since that meeting, we haven’t had any follow-up cases brought to us,” Green said.

The impact on prosecution

On June 23, Curwensville Police in Clearfield County arrested a Clarion man who had spoken with members of 814Pred Hunters, exchanged sexual messages, and believed he would be meeting up with a 15-year-old girl at a local Dollar General. Seth J. Bechtel, 31, was charged with attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted unlawful contact with a minor, attempted aggravated indecent assault, attempted corruption of minors and criminal use of a communication facility.

However, at least one case out of Westmoreland County indicates that the type of work groups like 814Pred Hunters do can cause problems in prosecuting suspected pedophiles.

In February 2025, hundreds of charges of child pornography were dismissed against a Hempfield man who was the target of a Texas group called Predator Poachers. They made contact with the man through a fake social media profile created to look like that of a 9-year-old girl, and asked the man to exchange pornographic photos with them.

Judge Tim Krieger noted that while it is legal for police to pose as a juvenile as part of a criminal investigation, it is improper under current state law for a civilian to do the same thing.

“Sexual communications with an adult pretending to be a child are simply not criminal unless the adult is a member of law enforcement acting in the performance of their duties,” Krieger wrote.