Herbert Velotta was not taken into custody the night a civilian group confronted him at his pool business outside Mt. Juliet. Five days later, the 51-year-old owner of Pool Pros LLC was charged with attempted aggravated statutory rape.
The Lebanon Democrat reported Wednesday that Wilson County deputies took Velotta into custody on Oct. 15 and released him on Oct. 17 on a $100,000 bond. The paper said he was accused of attempting to solicit a minor. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 27, 2027.
The Oct. 10 Confrontation
Pred Task Force, a Michigan-based civilian watchdog group, confronted Velotta at Pool Pros on Oct. 10. The group said he had exchanged highly sexual messages with an undercover decoy and planned to meet an underage boy at the business. It said he admitted those plans and messages during the confrontation.
Deputies arrived at the shop the same night. The Lebanon Democrat reported that he also admitted the plans and messages to officers, and that deputies allegedly found sexual lubricant in his pocket. He was not taken into custody after that evidence gathering, and he was not charged before the night ended.
The group criticized the sheriff's office for waiting. Jake Hockey said deputies told them law enforcement had to be involved in the entire investigation, and that Tennessee law requires officers to conduct stings in their entirety. He later said Velotta was taken into custody after community members spoke up.
What Deputies Said They Had To Review
Scott Moore, public information officer for the Wilson County Sheriff's Office, described the work still left after a confrontation. Evidence from private citizens can be helpful, he told the Lebanon Democrat, but deputies have to review it and how it was gathered.
Moore said officers have to review the communications, verify identities, assess how the evidence was collected and preserved, and determine whether a specific offense occurred. An adult posing as a minor can raise legal questions that depend on the charge. A confrontation, a posted video, or a reported admission does not automatically establish grounds for an arrest.
The sheriff's criminal investigation division is investigating the case. The office provided no further information.
Outside The City Limits
Pool Pros sits outside Mt. Juliet's city limits and falls under county jurisdiction, which is why city police were never in the file. The Mt. Juliet Police Department said it was not contacted, had no knowledge of the incident, and had no role in deciding whether charges would be pursued.
The department also said protecting children is among its highest priorities.
Other Tennessee Confrontations
Pred Task Force described other stops in the same stretch, separate from the Pool Pros case. The group said an individual in Smyrna was taken into custody and charged on Oct. 11 after a similar confrontation. Smyrna police confirmed to the Lebanon Democrat that the department is pursuing charges against that suspect, and provided no further details.
The group also said a confrontation in Nashville led to an arrest by Metro Nashville police. Those accounts remain the group's, and they are not Velotta's case.
Private Stings And A January Date
Wilson County's stated caution is the local version of a problem Stateline examined in a report published Tuesday. The outlet identified nearly 50 individuals or groups nationwide posting content that exposes suspected child predators. Some involve law enforcement only after a sting is complete, Stateline reported, which can leave officers without the full account or the evidence from the encounter.
Experts told Stateline that the online conversations and promises have to be authenticated and preserved, and that recordings may raise questions about state wiretapping laws. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 21.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2025, the outlet reported.
Stateline also described confrontations that turned violent or came apart. In a 2024 Austin video, members of Dads Against Predators surrounded a man at a grocery store and struck him in the back of the head with a pumpkin. In Southern California, police detained a man confronted by livestreamer Vitaly Zdorovetskiy's crew and released him after questioning. Stateline said he had been falsely accused of trying to meet a minor.
Pred Task Force had not responded to the Lebanon Democrat by press time Wednesday evening. Frank Lannom, Velotta's defense attorney in Lebanon, had not responded by 4 p.m. The date now attached to the charge is Jan. 27, 2027.
