A citizen-run sting operation caught a Minnesota man sending child pornography to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl, according to charges that also alleged he routinely traded sexually explicit photos of minors with others through a dating app.
Jason Alan Dalbec, 47, of Cokato, Minn., was charged in Wright County District Court last week with 10 counts of possessing child pornography depicting minors younger than 14 years old.
Photos seized from Dalbec’s various electronic devices depicted girls who appear no older than 13 and as young as 5, the charges allege.
Dalbec was arrested Thursday and remains jailed in lieu of $125,000 bail. Court records do not list an attorney for him. He’s due in court on Aug. 4.
The Sheriff’s Office was alerted by Bikers Against Predators, an Indiana-based nonprofit, that says its mission is to take “action against online child predators ... and [have] them face justice.”
The group’s Facebook page includes numerous videos from around the country of people it says it has revealed to be sexual predators of children. Bikers Against Predators claims 547,000 followers and nearly 10,000 members.
Members of Bikers Against Predators traveled to Cokato on July 19, confronted Dalbec at his home and contacted the Sheriff’s Office, the charges read.
County Attorney Brian Lutes said his office’s instruction to law enforcement agencies is to “not use private groups as an agent of the government, but we will investigate reports that come to us voluntarily.”
