Police arrest Springfield man for attempting to lure child online

Police in Bridgeton, Mo. arrested a man from the Ozarks after investigators say he was caught trying to lure a young girl from her family. Police instead say it was a setup.

Truckers Against Predators works to catch sexual predators. In this sting, the 6'4" truck driver said he was actually terrified when came face-to-face with the suspect. Police later arrested the man after investigators say he sent graphic messages on social media to a girl he thought was only 12.

He then drove to St. Louis in the middle of the night to meet up.

"This is the stuff movies are written about," said Anthony Greene of Truckers Against Sexual Predators. "You would shed tears, the things he said to this little girl was the worst of the worst. This guy told her to pack a bag, kiss her parents goodbye and he was taking her back to Springfield. It's terrible. We're just trying to make a difference."

Greene, a truck driver by day, works to catch child sex predators when he's off the clock. He started Truckers Against Predators because as a boy, he was a victim of sexual assault. And now he has a 12-year-old daughter.

"After I see what's going on, give me your phone, she's not old enough," said Greene. "It's so scary."

Truckers Against Predators operates nationwide. It started four months ago. Greene says their work has already led to 18 arrests. He starts with a group of decoys who post on popular apps. Then he waits for the responses to come pouring in.

"They'll get about a hundred messages a piece from people wanting to meet them," said Greene. "Within three messages, they say they are 12, gonna be 13. 80 percent say you should get your butt beat by your parents. It's the other 20 percent, graphic pics, concerned about that we deal with."

Prosecutors have yet to charge the man from Springfield arrested in the sting.