San Diego County Sheriff's Department

SDSO Investigating Sergeant Accused of Meeting Up With Teen for Sex

A social media vigilante group posed as a teenage boy and organized a meet-up with a San Diego County Sheriff's Department sergeant

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The San Diego County Sheriff's Department is investigating a sergeant accused by a social media vigilante group of attempting to meet up with a teenage boy for sex.

The department confirmed it launched its investigation last Friday after the allegations were made in a video posted on the People V. Preds YouTube channel.

The man behind the camera said he posed as a 15-year-old boy and planned a meet-up with the sergeant, who said he wanted to "kiss and do fun stuff." The meeting at a McDonalds in Mission Valley set the stage for the "sting" operation streamed live on the YouTube page.

"You’re busted homie," the cameraman said to who he claims was the sergeant driving a personal vehicle. "You are busted, bro. Roll down your window, let’s have a conversation, or I can call the cops. I have all your information. You going to leave?"

The driver in the video did not say he was there for sex.

The Sheriff's Department started investigating the sergeant Friday soon after the allegations were made.

“We just learned of these allegations earlier this evening and have taken immediate action. Yes we have opened up an internal investigation into the allegations," SDSO spokesperson Lt. Amber Baggs told NBC 7 Friday, March 11.

NBC 7 isn't showing the sergeant's face or identifying him by name because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

The sergeant has been with the department for 25 years but has only been a sergeant for a year, Lt. Baggs said. He worked at San Diego Central Jail and is now on an administrative assignment while the department looks into the claims against him, according to Baggs.

Attorney Jessica Pride isn't connected to the case, but offered insight to investigation and the accusations leveled against the sergeant.

"When looking at the facts as we know them today, there really isn’t an innocent explanation for what he did," Pride said.

Pride said it's a felony to arrange to have sex with a minor. Investigators can use the information gathered by the YouTube page to build a criminal case, or use it as the basis for a more thorough investigation into the sergeant’s activities on and off the clock.

NBC 7 reached out to People vs. Preds but has not heard back.

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