A 47-year-old Vandergrift man is facing serious charges after Sharon police say a citizen group lured him to town in what they describe as a child-sex sting.
Authorities identified the suspect as Calvin Kendall and said officers arrested him Sunday night in Sharon, then took him to the Mercer County Jail. Police say the bust came after members of a private group approached officers at the scene with their own evidence.
According to a Sharon police press release, the group that calls itself Predator Poachers contacted officers around 10 p.m. Sunday and reported that they had set up a meeting at an address on Frank Street in Sharon, CBS News Pittsburgh reported. Police told CBS that Kendall - a registered sex offender in Pennsylvania - traveled to the location believing he would have sex with an 11-year-old girl and her mother. Officers said they found items described as "sex toys" in his possession and arrested Kendall after reviewing the information and evidence the group turned over.
During an interview with a Sharon police officer, Kendall made incriminating statements regarding this incident and his intent, the release said, CBS News Pittsburgh reported. Court paperwork cited in that report shows Kendall is charged with felony counts of statutory sexual assault and sexual assault and was taken to the Mercer County Jail to await arraignment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13, according to the documents.
Vigilante sex stings walk a legal tightrope
Citizen-led sting operations like this one have raised alarms among prosecutors and legal experts, who warn they can complicate cases, create safety risks, and, in some instances, blow up prosecutions entirely. Reporting by The Washington Post and others has documented situations where ambush-style confrontations led to charges against the vigilante groups themselves or damaged the chain of evidence. Law-enforcement officials generally urge anyone with tips on potential child exploitation to call police rather than staging their own confrontations.
Sharon police have not released additional records beyond the department press release cited by local media. Kendall remains in custody pending arraignment, and the Mercer County court calendar will dictate the next moves in the case as prosecutors review material gathered by both the citizen group and law-enforcement investigators.
