CT Teens’ “To Catch A Predator” Inspired Sting Leads To State Police Probe, Arrest

A Brooklyn resident has been arrested months after a group of Connecticut high school students conducted their own sting in the style of the television reality show “To Catch A Predator.”

Jeffrey Davis, 30, turned himself in to state police on Feb. 16, and he was charged on a warrant with criminal attempt to commit second-degree sexual assault.

The arrest stems from an incident in the fall of 2024 in Killingly, according to state police.

A comment at school

The guidance department from Harvard H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson contacted law enforcement in October 2024 after a male student was asked to discuss something good he had done in the world lately.

The student reported to a school staff member that recently, he and his friends had conducted a “To Catch A Predator” sting operation, like the television show, according to the arrest warrant. The student said they confronted a man they met through a fake Grindr account who believed he was meeting an underage boy for sex.

The student said he and a couple of friends made fake Grindr profiles, “because they thought it would be funny.”

Eventually, they texted with a man who believed he was communicating with a 15-year-old, and “wanted to meet up to do sexual things,” the student told investigators, the affidavit shows. The three youths arranged to meet the man in the vicinity of Maple Street in Killingly. They told police they then confronted the man, asking if “he thinks it’s okay to meet a 15 year-old" and “if he knew it was illegal.” The man started to run away, and the teens ran after him, but residents intervened as the man yelled for help, and he got away, the teens told police.

The teens deleted their Grindr accounts after their parents found out what happened, the warrant shows. They were unable to provide the suspect’s name or address to police.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Davis called state police saying he wanted to turn himself in. He told police he believed people he had met on Grindr who turned out to be predator catchers were in an upstairs apartment and were going to beat him up, the affidavit shows.

When police questioned him, Davis said during an interview he “recognized he needs help for his behavior as his thoughts have become actions and he attempted to have sex with an underage boy,” according to the warrant.

Davis was transported to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, police said. The warrant says Davis contacted police multiple times expressing fear about people trying to get into his apartment, though police deemed his fears to be unfounded.

‘A dangerous situation’

Scott Driscoll, a retired police officer, is now the president and founder of Internet Safety Concepts in South Windsor, which helps families stay safe online.

Driscoll said the teens in this situation put themselves in potential danger. Confronting predators is best left to law enforcement, he noted.

“I’m glad no one was hurt,” Driscoll said.

Whenever anyone meets someone online and then in person, it can be risky, he said.

“For this ‘To Catch a Predator’ situation, to show up and meet someone, is a dangerous situation,” Driscoll said. “Let the police do their jobs.”

Police investigators regularly pose as minors online in an effort to catch sex offenders, but they are trained professionals.

“Law enforcement has to be involved from the get go,” Driscoll said. “It has to be done in a safe way, and parents need to talk to kids about (the potential dangers of) meeting strangers in person.”

After his arrest, Davis was held on a $50,000 cash surety bond for arraignment in Superior Court in Danielson on Feb. 17. He is next due in court on March 23.