PARKSLEY, Va. (WAVY) — Accomack County deputies had some help capturing a suspected child predator.
Matthew Thomas, 20, was arrested at the library in Parksley, and it was thanks to an independent organization, which collected the evidence needed to warrant an arrest.
Jidion Adams runs an organization called EDP WATCH. His team is stationed across the U.S. and pose as “decoys,”,” pretending to be minors.
“The reason why I feel so passionately about this is because I feel like children are the most defenseless people on this earth,” Adams said.
Adams has helped catch predators since 2022, doing it full time since last year. It’s something he feels strongly about.
One of his “decoys” lives near Accomack County and specializes in catching predators who lurk on Roblox — an online game where children can play games they’ve designed. Adams said Thomas started messaging his decoy, who was posing as a 12-year-old girl.
“And actually, after learning that the decoy was 12-years-old, he then got even more sexual and started sending explicit pictures of himself and explicit videos and was soliciting to have them meet,” Adams said.
They document everything to keep on a hard drive as evidence.
“Our decoys are trained to pretty much have the predators talk to a wall,” Adams said. “You know, we don’t really engage in the sexual talk. We let them talk like that.”
Adams said the decoy and Thomas planned to meet at the library in Parksley. That’s where Adams was waiting for him.
“We obviously tell them they can leave whenever they want, this is just a heart-to-heart conversation,” Adams added.
He took him aside and recorded their interaction. At a certain point during the chat, Adams gives the cue to one of his team to call police.
“He was very honest,” Adams said. “He did say that he did want to do those things. And after he was Mirandized to the police officers. Everything he told me, he told them, and that’s also on their bodycams.”
He said it’s alarming how many predators are out there, and cautioned that parents need to be alert.
“Predators know kids are on there, and these predators know how to talk to them,” Adams said. “These predators are very manipulative. Even when I go and talk to them, sometimes, like, if I wasn’t as trained as I am, I would think maybe I got the wrong guy, ’cause the stories and lies and the manipulation that they do is just out of this world.”
This was Thomas’ first arrest. He’s been charged with use of a computer to commit certain sex offenses with a minor. Additional charges may be pending.
