Accused predator said he didn’t ‘want to see Chris Hansen’ right before sting

Suspected Pedophile Caught in Sting Operation by Chris Hansen

A suspected pedophile found himself in a nightmare scenario when he arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl, only to be confronted by predator hunter Chris Hansen and local police. Tyler Devault, 33, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was one of nine individuals apprehended in a large-scale sting operation spanning Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, set to be featured on the series “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” as announced by Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.

During his online communications with an undercover officer posing as a young teen, Devault expressed concerns about being set up by Chris Hansen, referencing the infamous show “To Catch a Predator.” Despite pretending to be 19, Devault arrived at the planned meeting spot with a pizza, only to be met by Hansen and swiftly taken into custody by law enforcement.

Authorities engaged in numerous online conversations with potential predators, engaging in explicit discussions with individuals who believed they were interacting with underage individuals and soliciting them for sexual activities in Harford County. Each suspect was met by Hansen and deputies, leading to their arrests.

Nicholas Fountain, a resident of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, who owns two daycare centers, was among those apprehended. Fountain had engaged with an undercover deputy posing as a 14-year-old boy on a Reddit thread named “Boys Ask Dads.”

Expressing his hopes for a successful operation, Sheriff Gahler stated, “When I was first approached about conducting this operation, it was my sincere hope that we would come up empty-handed… Sadly, that was not the case at all.”

Chris Hansen, known for his work on “To Catch a Predator” on “Dateline NBC,” launched “Takedown with Chris Hansen” on his streaming service TruBlu in 2022, aiming to continue his efforts in exposing and combating online predators.