That sting was run back in May by Millersville Assistant Police Chief Shawn Taylor and a colorful cast of characters he assembled for the operation.

Among the revelations, the recordings show:

  • Taylor did not involve other law enforcement agencies with more experience in such operations because of his unfounded conspiracy theories that prominent state officials are involved in child sex trafficking.
  • Members of a private group posed online as minors — despite Millersville police being told by prosecutors that the sting would be legal only if sworn law enforcement officers were the ones doing the work.
  • Shawn Taylor told one operative that investigators would be using “pre-signed search warrants,” which would likely be illegal, according to experts.
  • Police arrested one suspect then, when he refused to talk to investigators, they turned him over to the private group for questioning.
  • A Millersville detective boasted that the suspect was being taken to a jail where it was likely that he might not come out alive.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240717120405/https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/franklin-politics/disturbing-recordings-from-inside-child-predator-sting-shows-police-maga-operatives-ignoring-laws

  • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    And start whacking some — you know, not to make it political — but whole leftist, corrupt, pedophile, this evil thing that’s taken over Nashville,

    Hmm, yes, it’s the left that need to tone down the rhetoric.

    • gibmiser@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      Let’s see, start from the conclusion that liberals are satanic pedophiles. Use non-law enforcement to identify liberals who must also be pedophiles. Entrap them and use whatever means necessary to take these evil satanic pedophiles off the streets.

      Sure, what could go wrong?

          • Billiam@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Kinda funny how the party that isn’t sexually repressive or regressive doesn’t prey on children. I wonder what inferences could be drawn between conservative rhetoric and the sheer number of conservatives busted for child abuse. Is it just the power imbalance?

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              I think there are many reasons. For one thing, they have the Christian vote locked up, and the sort of Christianity they preach is one where you can do any manner of atrocious things, ask forgiveness, be forgiven, then repeat the cycle. So many clergy that are even in prison for being sex offenders still get defended by their former parishioners.

              Another is definitely a power imbalance thing, especially when there is a lot of evidence tying psychopathy to business success. Lacking any real moral code is fine when you’re a rich CEO. As Trump said, “when you’re wealthy, they let you do it.”

              A third is that there are a lot of Republican voters who are so rabidly anti-left that they will literally elect a sex offender (Jim Jordan) over a Democrat.

              I’m sure people can suggest others.

            • dumpsterlid@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              I think it is rather that conservatism has nothing to do with being conservative really at the end of the day, that is just the team colors these people wear to identify what team they are on.

              Conservatives are conservative so they can hate without guilt and so they can control and possess with violence and be rewarded for it. From this angle the synergy heinous shitheads see in being a Republican and being a pedophile (but also defining your public persona completely around hating pedophiles too) is pretty straightforward in my opinion. Also probably the most pathetic thing on the face of the earth.

          • NABDad@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Here’s the thing. I really believe that the Republican party is loaded to the gills with criminal creeps. However, if I were to share this list with any of my right-wing Christian acquaintances or (sigh) family, they’ll respond with “Democrats are worse!”

            Is there a similar list of Democrat Sexual predators, abusers, and enablers?

            Without a corresponding list, it makes it look like it’s just trying to make Republicans look bad (as opposed to just showing what they are).

            • flicker@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Why not just ask them to provide one? If they’re even worse, it should be easy to find supporting information.

              • NABDad@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                I’d rather have both lists, and be able to point at the 53 pages of Republican predators and two pages of Democrat predators and say, "see the difference?"1

        • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Which is funny to me, because I’ve had two coworkers in two different orgs catch a set of bracelets for enticement of a minor using a computer, and neither one was a liberal.

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            4 months ago

            Weirdly, same. Two different guys, both publicly pillars of the community. Both arrested for raping kids. In each case, they were just not at work one day, and our supervisors would just say, “So-and-so isn’t employed here anymore.”

            • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              That happened to me (kinda) the first time. I found out early because I got a a call about taking the on call phone (while already on call), and we were told not to talk about anything about it and he was totally coming back. But looking up the filing, we knew he wasn’t ever coming back.

  • retrospectology@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I hate people who make a big show of being “outraged” over child abuse as a way to cover for their own repugnant, violent beliefs and behaviors.

    It’s the same way some prisoner who murdered an entire family will beat or kill pedophiles in prison because he thinks he somehow redeems him on some level by having a “code”. In reality he’s still a massive piece of shit.

    It’s deeply self-serving exploitation of a very serious issue.

    • sleen@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      It is in human nature that most people prefer not to be demonised by their abhorrent character/morals. One way to ‘break free’ or cover them up, is to demonise another minority. Of course, there is a lot of examples from extreme to light.

      In context with your post, that minority does seem to be the most ostracised within the majority (even the non-offending) - to the situation that harassment and ‘murder?’ By most communities is tolerated.

      The situation can be observed everywhere, online and offline; and one point can be ruled out in some cases “murder is justified if the person was a pedophile (non-offending & offending)”.

      This is one of the most extreme cases of improving your character at the cost of others. Harassment will remain harassment no matter what.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      4 months ago

      There’s a little more to prisoners beating up pedophiles. Many of them are themselves victims of child abuse. It’s revenge.

      • retrospectology@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Either way it’s intellectually dishonest, hypocritical and inherently anti-justice.

        If I get robbed by someone, and then later go to prison and find out some random prisoner is a thief, I’m not morally entitled to attack that person (who is already serving their time).

        Prison justice is 100% bullshit.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          No, they don’t care if you were a thief outside. They care if you’re a thief inside. They’re not doing it just because of a code, they’re defending the tiny amount of property they’re allowed to have. We also wouldn’t even blink if a homeowner beat up a thief in their house, so this is a bit hypocritical.

          • retrospectology@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            No, they don’t care if you were a thief outside. They care if you’re a thief inside.

            I’m not talking about if someone steals from you in prison (not that it’s justifiable to be violent because someone stole something from you in prison anyway).

            The analogy here is getting robbed at some point and then beating up some other entirely random thief who never robbed you (who’s already getting punished for their crime in prison). When a pedophile is put in prison, there are no children for them to victimize, they are being punished for the crime they committed. They are not trying to rape the adult prisoners, so those prisoners can’t claim they were victimized by that person.

            Prisoners are not fit to administer justice, they are there to serve for their own crimes and moral failings, not play at being judge and jury for fellow criminals.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              Dude, most of the people in prison are there for drugs and robbery. That’s not even feasible. I don’t know where you heard that’s a thing, but it isn’t.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  It would be infeasible for the prison justice code to include thievery done outside prison. Your example is ridiculous and meant to minimize the impact sexual predators have on people’s lives.

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    4 months ago

    What happens when you give people with bizarre conspiracy theories a gun and a badge?

    Well here in America of A, that’s just Wednesday.

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    4 months ago

    POLICE and MAGAS ignoring laws that are inconvenient for them??!! I’m shocked, SHOCKED I tell you.

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    4 months ago

    Isn’t the term for this extrajudicial?

    “And start whacking some — you know, not to make it political — but whole leftist, corrupt, pedophile, this evil thing that’s taken over Nashville,” Sawyer said.

    There it is.

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    NewsChannel 5 Investigates discovered hours and hours of videos where Shawn Taylor has appeared on podcasts associated with the widely discredited QAnon conspiracy theories.

    Source: link in the OP article to part one of an eight part series.

    Editorial: A local news station investigated, uncovered evidence, and appear to be interviewing those involved about what they find analyzing the evidence, then reporting in a series of lengthy articles full of direct quotes. True journalism lives.

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        4 months ago

        Why would you want dissemination of truth in the hands of the department of “order over justice”? They’ve been fucking us for decades just like the other two branches of governance. These journalist are risking their lives for truth. I trust them much more than any politician.

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          4 months ago

          That’s why it’s a CC, not just letting them sit on the information themselves. If we know they have the information, and they know we know, then pressure to conduct a criminal investigation vastly increases.

          • SirDerpy@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            You’ve the wrong agency responsible for investigation, I think.

            I’m talking about Truth and Justice the principles. I trust these journalists to serve us more effectively than any government agency despite their lack of authority.

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                4 months ago

                We the People, just as they’ve been doing. No one else gives a fuck about our best interests. Why ask for some assholes to get involved. We’d do just fine taking care of this one on our own.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  So what then? You just want to read about it and be mad? Nothing else? No arrests, no trials, no accountability?

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    4 months ago

    I don’t care if Republicans are Kidnapping their Neighbors and Torturing them. The LEFT needs to COOL it with their Violence!

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    4 months ago

    The best way to not be caught as a child predator is to pretend you are fighting them.