BEAVER, Pa. — Police arrested and charged a man who they said attempted to lure a teenage girl into his truck as she was leaving school and walking home in Rochester.
A local predator hunter’s group said that attempted luring should have never happened, and the District Attorney should have filed charges months ago.
But the District Attorney said he can’t press charges against somebody when evidence is gathered by one of those predator hunting groups.
“I think this case is a very good example of why the law needs to be changed,” Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek on Tuesday.
On September 10, police arrested and charged Ronald Antolik Jr. because they said he tried to lure a 14-year-old girl into his truck.
“The 14-year-old informed her parents, who then contacted the police, and they went and picked up this individual,” Bible said.
Police tracked Antolik to a home on Taffy Run Road in New Sewickley.
Police said he had a sword on his hip and resisted arrest. He was taken into custody after a brief standoff.
The nonprofit group 814 Pred Hunters posted on Facebook this weekend that they went to police with information on Antolik Jr. in July. They said one of their decoys pretended to be a minor, and Antolik sent explicit pictures and videos to the decoy.
They said Bible refused to file charges.
Bible said state law prohibits prosecutors from using evidence gathered by these groups.
“Even the notion or the suggestion that we don’t take this seriously, or that we don’t pursue these types of cases is ridiculous,” Bible said. “But with what they’re doing right now, it amounts to nothing.”
Bible said he and other District Attorneys have met with this group, and others like it, to explain this.
“Even if you set up a meeting to have this person show up there, again, unless there is a child or a law enforcement officer pretending to be a child, there isn’t anything that we can file charges on,” Bible said.
Bible said unless state law is changed, these groups need to involve police when they’re doing their investigations.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele agreed.
He said there is case law on a possible charge to be filed using these groups’ evidence, but it’s a case-by-case basis.
“There are cases where they have sufficient evidence that they bring to us for us to warrant filing of criminal charges and there’s other cases where we have to evaluate it and say we don’t have enough here and then we can either try to get additional evidence through our own investigation or we decline to prosecute,” Aubele said.
814 Pred Hunters sent Channel 11 a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“The argument that “catch team evidence can’t be used” has been disproven time and time again by actual prosecutions resulting from evidence gathered by our team and other catch teams. We have MANY individuals sitting in state prisons and county jails as a result of cases that originated from this type of work. We have took the stand in a jury trial resulting in an individual being sentenced to 16-64 years in prison. Additionally, another catch team stood before the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and the Superior Court ruled in favor of the catch team. So, the blanket statement that “the evidence can’t be used” simply does not apply to these situations.
“We take tremendous pride in the work we do. We take precautions, document our interactions, and make every effort to preserve evidence to the best of our abilities. We understand the importance of maintaining the integrity of evidence and working within the proper legal process. And we want to be very clear about something...We do NOT claim to be law enforcement. We do NOT want to be law enforcement. We want to be a tool for law enforcement. We could be another resource they can utilize to help identify predators, preserve information, and ultimately protect the communities they serve.
“And sometimes, actions speak louder than words. Just look at what happened in Westmoreland County last week. For years, there was a firm stance against taking cases originating from our work. Yet last week, they did take one of our cases. That matters.
“We aren’t asking to replace law enforcement. We aren’t asking to take over investigations. We aren’t asking for special treatment. We’re asking for the opportunity to work alongside law enforcement and provide information that can potentially help them do their job and keep children safe.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t about catch teams getting recognition, attention, or credit. It’s about the victims who can’t protect themselves, and making sure every legitimate tool available is being considered to protect them.”
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