A former news anchor at the NBC affiliate in Elmira, New York, was placed on leave and his employment ultimately terminated after he was caught in a ''predator hunter'' sting video that was posted on YouTube, WETM-TV said on social media.
"607 Predator Hunters," a citizens group that says it aims to protect children, posted a video of former news anchor Zach Wheeler to its YouTube channel Saturday, accusing the news anchor of driving three hours to meet someone he believed to be a 15-year-old boy.
Wheeler, who was also the news director at the station, said he was just trying to get the teen some help.
''Friday evening, WETM was made aware of a video posted to YouTube regarding one of our employees,'' the news outlet said in a Facebook post on Monday. ''The local group that posted the video claimed that the employee engaged in inappropriate behavior. WETM management investigated the questions raised by the video, and the employee is no longer employed by WETM.''
In a previous post, WETM said: ''WETM has been made aware of a video posted to YouTube regarding one of our employees. The local group that posted the video claims that the employee engaged in inappropriate behavior. WETM management is looking into the questions raised by the video, and the employee will remain off the air until the situation is resolved. No charges have been filed in connection with the video.''
According to Heavy, when Wheeler was confronted by the vigilante group at a Dick's Sporting Goods store, he said, ''Listen, I'm a Christian man.''
''I'm not here to have sex with a kid,'' he said. ''I was here to talk to this kid to get him off of these apps. I'm not a pedophile.''
Wheeler then asked if the group needed funding or publicity to catch more predators.
''Are you here to ruin people's lives?'' Wheeler asked. ''I'm a kind, Christian person who cares about people and now you're going to ruin my entire life. I'm going to lose my job and everything.''
''Do you need money? … Honestly, I will help you guys find more predators if you want,'' he continued. ''I know you think I'm some kind of sick predator, but I'm not.''
According to the Wellsville Sun, Wheeler's Facebook and Twitter accounts have been set to private or deleted and his profile is no longer available on the WETM website.
On Monday, the ''607 Predator Hunters'' wrote on Facebook, ''A quick update regarding the recent case. Information has been turned over to the State Police!! Will continue to update as things unfold. Thank you again to everyone for helping and spreading the word!!!''
Heavy reports that Wheeler has not been arrested, and it was not immediately clear if police are investigating the incident.
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