Logan man works to uncover online predators and expose them to police

LOGAN, Utah — A Logan man is so sick of online child predators that he has started setting up his own sting operations. He started the YouTube site “exposeallpedos!” where he documented his first bust, which he said happened after only an hour of interacting with the suspect.

“I mean sickos deserve to be called out,” said the man who goes by Pred Catcher. He remained anonymous in hopes of ensuring his safety.

And he said he was surprised by how many men hope to hook up with teenage girls. In this case, the suspect, who thought he was meeting a 15-year-old for sex, showed up at Walmart. When confronted, he took off.

That man was 28-year-old Alexander Joseph Chesley, who is now in jail, facing nearly a dozen charges of sexual exploitation of a minor after police served a search warrant on his phone and found child porn.

Logan City Assistant Chief of Police Jeff Simmons said these confrontations can be risky.

“Although we love the fact that we’re able to investigate this and put this person, in, you, jail, we would prefer that come to us first,” Simmons said.

Still, Simmons is glad to have a predator off the streets.

The man who goes by Pred Catcher said he does worry about the inherent danger that could come with this kind of work, but not enough to stop.

“I think every one of them deserves to be exposed, every one of them doesn’t deserve to be around kids, doesn’t deserve to be in our communities.”

Police say they are actively working to bust online predators and human traffickers. But it’s a huge problem. So, while they would prefer these stings be left to them, they admit it’s a bigger problem than anyone can handle alone.