In an unusual collaboration with a YouTuber, a Liberty County Sheriff’s Office investigation has led to the arrest of a 54-year-old man and registered sex offender.
The investigation launched after YouTube channel PredatorPoachers used a decoy operation —in this case, posing as a minor online — to communicate with Robert Lee Parker and then shared the interaction on social media.
After speaking with the creator of the YouTube channel Thursday and further investigation, the sheriff’s office on Friday arrested Parker. Meanwhile, the investigation continues.
“This is a fluid situation, and we take allegations involving the potential exploitation of children extremely seriously,” Liberty County Capt. John Bennett said. “At the same time, it is important that investigators conduct a thorough and complete investigation to ensure all facts are verified and all legal requirements are met before any charging decisions are made.”
The county sheriff’s office in a Facebook post said it arrested Parker after obtaining a warrant alleging that he had not complied with sex offender registration laws. In 2023, Parker had been arrested and accused of possessing child pornography. He pleaded guilty three years later and was required to register as a sex offender.
In the current case, sheriff’s investigators reviewed the footage published on YouTube, where they discovered that the device that was given to them was a “burner phone,” rather than the original device used to communicate.
Detectives initially found very little evidence related to the alleged offense, a release by the agency stated. After further investigation, the sheriff’s office said, authorities discovered that Parker was a registered sex offender and that he allegedly initiated contact with an individual he believed to be a minor. He didn’t use the same social media usernames and email addresses that he had provided to local law enforcement, the sheriff’s office said.
The agency said that online decoy operations often generate public attention and bring awareness to potential criminal activity, but that investigators encounter challenges when trying to obtain evidence to help criminal prosecution.