A US engineer who reportedly worked for Meta to build digital experiences for kids was caught in a sting operation attempting to send inappropriate texts to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Josh Felker, a 44-year-old engineering manager, was caught in a sting operation by a vigilante

A US engineer who reportedly worked for Meta to build digital experiences for kids was caught in a sting operation attempting to send inappropriate texts to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Josh Felker, a 44-year-old engineering manager, was caught in a sting operation by a vigilante

A US engineer who reportedly worked for Meta to build digital experiences for kids was caught in a sting operation attempting to send inappropriate texts to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Josh Felker, a 44-year-old engineering manager, was caught in a sting operation by a vigilante

A US engineer who reportedly worked for Meta to build digital experiences for kids was caught in a sting operation attempting to send inappropriate texts to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Josh Felker, a 44-year-old engineering manager, was caught in a sting operation by a vigilante group which seeks to catch would-be perverts.

Felker is reportedly on leave now from Meta, according to The New York Post. A video of the same by the vigilante group, Predator Poachers Long Island, has him confessing to the crime. “Even though inappropriate things had already gone on, I just almost wish I could be her dad,” Felker reportedly told a group member who posed as the would-be victim’s grandmother on the phone.

Felker, who is married and has a small child, reportedly got in touch with a 13-year-old decoy account created by the group in May and has ever since been texting them regularly. They later confronted him outside his Manhattan apartment.

One of the group members told The New York Post that Felker had been making a slew of sick remarks, including trying to teach the girl how to masturbate and sending multiple photos and videos of himself doing the same. He had also been trying to set up a meeting with the “girl” in person.

The video released by the group also showed the members confronting Felker outside his apartment. Felker, who tried to flee the poachers initially, later agreed to talk but didn’t want his mother-in-law, who was inside, to overhear that he was cheating on his wife by grooming someone he thought was a minor.

He also confessed that this was not the first time he had communicated with someone  he believed to be underage. “I did this once before with another girl who is underage,” he said, before blaming his sexless marriage for the crime.

The video also showed police arriving at the apartment to arrest him. Felker is charged with disseminating indecent material to minors and endangering the welfare of a child.