cytate

🚨 VERMONT RESIDENTS: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REPORT A CHILD SEX OFFENDER? APPARENTLY, YOU BECOME THE INVESTIGATION. On October 14, our team confronted a twice-convicted sex offender in Milton, Vermont, after he engaged in sexually inappropriate conversations with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl and arranged to meet her. During our voluntary interview, he admitted to those conversations AND to purchasing and possessing large quantities of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). We immediately called 911. We cooperated with police. We offered our evidence. And somehow, WE ended up in handcuffs, with approximately $11,275 worth of electronics seized. Here's what happened. Milton Police Lieutenant Samuel Noel initially handled the situation as expected. The suspect admitted to possessing CSAM, and police seized his phone. Then Noel contacted Vermont ICAC Commander Matthew Raymond. That's when everything changed. According to what officers told us, Raymond ordered our vehicle held until we consented to a search and surrendered our electronics. When we contacted our attorney, I was handcuffed in the police station lobby after recoiling as an officer lunged for the phone in my hand. My call with my attorney was disconnected. We were subsequently led to believe our devices would be returned after investigators extracted the evidence. Instead, authorities seized:     •    5 cell phones     •    2 laptops     •    2 cameras     •    Approximately 20 SD cards     •    5 hard drives containing years of investigative work and personal information Nearly $11,275 in equipment. Gone. We were later told that the devices could be retained as evidence of past crimes, despite our having already provided evidence from previous investigations to law enforcement. Even more disturbing? Investigator Sarah Superneau allegedly told us that predator-catching groups are NOT welcome in Vermont and that other groups conducting similar investigations could expect the same treatment. LET THAT SINK IN. A convicted sex offender admitted to possessing CSAM. We reported him. He lost his phone. We lost practically everything. We've conducted 195 investigations across the country. We've worked with law enforcement agencies that understand the difference between someone reporting suspected child exploitation and someone committing it. Just TWO DAYS later, detectives working with ICAC in Massachusetts accepted our evidence, thanked us for our cooperation, and offered to return our SD card. That's how this should work. We cannot arrest suspects. We cannot prosecute them. We report what we uncover so law enforcement CAN. Yet in Vermont, our cooperation was met with detention, the seizure of our equipment, and conduct we believe violated our constitutional rights. This isn't just about predator catchers. If authorities can treat citizens reporting suspected crimes this way, what stops it from happening to YOU? We are demanding accountability, transparency, and the return of our property. We believe the actions of Vermont ICAC and Milton Police raise serious First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment concerns, and we intend to pursue every appropriate legal avenue. VERMONT, HERE'S THE ASSIGNMENT: Respectfully contact the agencies below. Demand an explanation for the treatment of citizens reporting suspected child exploitation. Ask why our equipment remains seized and call for an independent review of these actions. 📧 mailto:Matthew.raymond@vermont.gov 📧 mailto:Sarah.superneau@vermont.gov 📧 mailto:Samuel.noel@vermont.gov ☎️ Vermont Attorney General: 802-828-3171 ☎️ Vermont ICAC: 802-828-5522 ☎️ Milton Police: 802-893-2424 Protect children. Respect constitutional rights. Hold public officials accountable. Because reporting a suspected predator should never make YOU the target. SHARE THIS. VERMONT DESERVES ANSWERS.