Quinnipiac Professor Confronted In 'Anti-Predator' Video

HAMDEN, CT — The chairman of the finance department at Quinnipiac University has been placed on leave and is being investigated after allegedly getting caught in a sting operation by a vigilante group that targets potential sexual predators. The Quinnipiac Chronicle reports that “Tom,” who is featured in the latest video posted on the POP (Prey on Predators) Squad website, is Quinnipiac Finance Department Chairperson Thomas S. Coe.

Coe, 59, is featured on the POP Squad website as “Tom, better known as #130, came out at 11:50 PM to meet what he believed to be a 14yr old boy after having a sexually explicit conversation.” In the hour-long video, which was posted on Nov. 12, Coe is confronted by a member of the POP Squad and says he came to the house “looking for some fun.” The location of the house wasn’t disclosed.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle reports that Coe’s finance class was canceled on Wednesday.

“This is a personnel matter,” Lynn Bushnell, vice president for public affairs at Quinnipiac, said in a statement. “He was placed on leave and is not on campus, pending an investigation.”

In the POP Squad video, “Tom” discusses the incident with the interviewer inside a house for a long time and is often speechless. He is also confronted with some of the text messages sent to what he believed was a 14-year-old boy, but was actually a POP Squad member.

After saying he didn’t work with children, “Tom” eventually admitted that he works around college students. As is its protocol, the POP Squad followed “Tom” out to his car to record his license plate and found condoms in the car.

After a long time, Tom said “I’m sorry” and said he wants to get help.

At the end of the video, police are called to the scene out of concern that “Tom” could harm himself.

POP Squad is a "local movement out of Connecticut that strives to help protect children from online predators both by catching these predators, and also raising community awareness around the issue in hopes of toughening laws and legislation," according to its website. The POP Squad turns over all of its information on subjects to police.

Watch the video at the POP Squad website here.

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