June 24, 2016
Lancaster County District Attorney's Office/Source
Michael A. Kovall.
A Facebook user channeled his inner Chris Hansen to aid in the arrest of a Pennsylvania man suspected of viewing child pornography.
Police in East Cocalico, Lancaster County, said Thursday they were tipped off about Michael A. Kovall, 23, of Denver, Pennsylvania, allegedly trying to video chat with a 13-year-old girl on Facebook.
The teenager wasn't a teen at all, and was instead an adult man who posed as a girl and invited Kovall to join the chat, which he accepted, police said.
The social media vigilante posted the video of the conversation to Facebook, and another man who recognized Kovall told police after watching it.
While no criminal activity took place in the video, Kovall admitted to viewing about 50 images of child pornography after being contacted by detectives, according to authorities.
A search of Kovall's laptop uncovered dozens of child porn images, police said. He's been charged with sexual abuse of a child (child pornography) and criminal use of a computer and was arraigned and jailed on $15,000 unsecured bail.
Despite the arrest, authorities warned others wanting to perform their own internet justice to avoid such methods.
"We don't advise the tactics used by this particular Facebook administrator," Lancaster County District Attorney's office spokesperson Brett Hambright told Lancaster Online.
"Even with good intentions, such behavior, if reckless, can be problematic."
