A suspected pedophile found himself in a nightmare scenario when he arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl, only to be met by predator hunter Chris Hansen and the police. Tyler Devault, 33, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was one of the individuals caught in a major sting operation across Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The operation, dubbed the “Nasty Nine” by Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler, will be featured on the series “Takedown with Chris Hansen.”
During his online conversations with an undercover officer posing as a young teen, Devault expressed his concern about being set up by Chris Hansen, referencing the infamous show “To Catch a Predator.” Despite pretending to be 19, Devault showed up for the meeting with a pizza in hand, only to be confronted by Hansen and law enforcement.
Detectives engaged in numerous online conversations with potential predators who believed they were conversing with underage individuals and soliciting them for sex in Harford County. Each suspect was met by Hansen and deputies and subsequently taken into custody. One of the individuals, Nicholas Fountain of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, owns two daycare centers and was caught engaging with an undercover deputy posing as a 14-year-old boy on a Reddit thread.
Sheriff Gahler expressed his hope that the operation would yield no arrests, indicating his desire to protect the community’s children. However, the reality was far from his wish, with multiple predators apprehended in the operation. Chris Hansen, known for his work on “To Catch a Predator,” launched “Takedown with Chris Hansen” on his streaming service TruBlu in 2022.
The sting operation serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers posed by online predators and the importance of vigilance in protecting vulnerable individuals, especially minors, from exploitation. Hansen’s continued efforts to expose and apprehend predators highlight the ongoing need for proactive measures to safeguard communities from such threats.
