A 48-year-old Butler man was arrested over the weekend in Clearfield County after police said he traveled to a Curwensville convenience store expecting to meet a 15-year-old girl he had been talking to online. Instead, police said, he found officers waiting, because the person on the other end of those messages had been an online decoy all along.
James Andrew Cogley was taken into custody at the intersection of State and Filbert Streets, according to WPXI, which reported that police said he went to that location with the intention of meeting a 15-year-old girl. Police said the conversation with the decoy began in June, and that Cogley had expressed plans to meet the minor in Curwensville before bringing her back to his home in Butler.
Explicit Photos and a Suspended License
Investigators said Cogley also sent sexually explicit photos to the person he believed was a teenager, per the station's reporting. On top of the allegations tied to the planned meeting, police said Cogley was driving illegally at the time of his arrest, noting he had a DUI suspension in effect. He is now being held at the Clearfield County Jail, according to the same report.
The arrest was the result of a joint effort: the Curwensville Police Department worked with 814 PredHunters and the Clearfield County District Attorney's Office to build the case, the station's account states. 814 PredHunters describes itself as an organization primarily based in Clearfield County that targets online predators attempting to solicit or engage in sexual activity with minors, according to The Courier Express.
A Pattern of Similar Cases in Clearfield County
This is not an isolated case for the region. A Clarion man was arrested in June after allegedly attempting to meet a child decoy at a Dollar General in Curwensville Borough, with Curwensville Borough Police filing those charges with assistance from the Clearfield County District Attorney's Office, according to GantNews. In another incident described by The Courier Express, a suspected predator was lured to Reynoldsville believing he was meeting a 15-year-old girl and was captured after fleeing from police.
814 PredHunters says its members pose as minors, communicate with adults, and in some cases arrange a meeting before turning evidence over to law enforcement, GantNews reported. The group has also claimed more than 70 successful convictions in Pennsylvania, including two successful jury trials, one of which was in Clearfield County, per the outlet's reporting — though that tally has not been independently verified.
How Pennsylvania Law Treats Decoy Cases
Pennsylvania law defines a minor as anyone under 18 years of age for purposes of the state's unlawful-contact statute, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. That same statute states a person commits an offense if intentionally in contact with a minor or a law-enforcement officer who has assumed the identity of a minor, for the purposes it specifies. Separately, a 2025 Pennsylvania Superior Court ruling held that some charges could still proceed even when the decoy was a private citizen rather than an actual child or a law-enforcement officer, the court decision noted by GantNews states.
Residents looking to follow the case can find docket information through the Clearfield County government, which maintains criminal case records online for what it describes as transparency and accountability, helping residents stay informed about legal proceedings.
