Leader of ‘predator-hunters’ group charged with two felonies in Madison County court
A “predator hunter” who videotapes confrontations with suspected pedophiles and posts them on social media has been charged with two felonies in Madison County Circuit Court.
Kyle P. Swanson, 30, of Wood River, is out on bond after being arrested May 20 on one count of unlawful restraint and one count of obstruction of justice/destroying evidence, both Class 4 felonies; and one count of assault, a Class C misdemeanor.
The charges revolve around a meeting between Swanson and another man on Jan. 12 at an unnamed location in Madison County.
“(Swanson) knowingly and without legal authority detained (the man), in that the said defendant enticed (the man) into his vehicle under a false pretense and refused to let (the man) exit the vehicle when requested,” according to a grand jury indictment for Count 1.
“(Swanson) knowingly caused physical evidence to be destroyed, altered, concealed, in that said defendant induced (the man and a woman) to erase digital evidence of a crime contained on a phone,” according to the indictment for Count 2.
“(Swanson) engaged in conduct that places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery, in that he threatened to hit (the man),” according to the indictment for Count 3.
Swanson is the founding leader of KTS Predator Hunters, a non-profit organization with more than 51,000 followers on one of its Facebook pages, KTS: Stop Sexual Assault. On Monday, the page had been taken down.
The organization’s leaders post photos, videos and other information to expose and shame people they suspect of being pedophiles. They sometimes pose as underage girls online and lure men to various locations, presumably to have sex; videotape the confrontations and broadcast them on YouTube.
KTS leaders say their undercover operations have led to arrests, but they’ve also been criticized by law enforcement for vigilantism that can interfere with investigations and prosecutions.
In an interview Monday, Swanson called the Madison County charges “B.S.” and accused authorities of using them as a “scare tactic.” He said the man entered his car voluntarily and that he didn’t destroy any evidence.
“My lawyer thinks they have absolutely nothing on me,” Swanson said. “They’re just trying to get me to stop KTS. ... And if that’s what they want, that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t need a felony conviction on me.”
Swanson said a video of his meeting with the man on Jan. 12 was posted on the KTS Facebook page.
A Madison County grand jury indicted Swanson on May 6, and a warrant was sealed until his May 20 arrest, according to court records. Swanson said he turned himself in.
Swanson was released after posting the required 10% of his $40,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 11 with Associate Judge Ronald Slemer.
Class 4 felonies can carry penalties of one to three years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines. Class C misdemeanors can carry penalties of up to 30 days in jail and up to $1,500 in fines.
The man whose complaint led to the criminal charges against Swanson has not been charged with a crime.
Swanson, who formerly lived in Belleville and Alton, is a U.S. Army combat veteran who founded KTS in 2018. He said Monday that his well-intended work has resulted in harassment and legal problems and made his battle with post traumatic stress disorder more difficult.
“I’ve never been in any trouble,” Swanson said. “This is all new to me. I was trying to help.”
A Red Bud man filed a civil lawsuit against Swanson and KTS in September 2020 in Randolph County Circuit Court. Adrian Collins maintained that the organization had wrongly defamed him on Facebook by accusing him of “grooming” a 14-year-old girl for sex in private messages.
Collins filed a motion for voluntary dismissal in December, and a judge granted it on March 22. Swanson declared victory in a Facebook Live chat with followers while leaving the Chester courthouse.
“The court case is finally done, and we have won,” Swanson said at the time. “... The guy that was suing us decided not to show up to any of the court cases, so that helped us out a lot. ... It was just a long process, kind of a shitty situation. They were trying to sue us for $100,000.”
Last fall, Collinsville School District Unit 10 officials expressed concern in a letter to parents that KTS had engaged in one of its sting-like operations in the parking lot of Webster Elementary School.
The target was a Missouri man who apparently thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl. Instead, he faced two KTS members, who interrogated and reprimanded him for about 10 minutes as video cameras recorded the scene.
The organization argued that it occurred after school hours, put no child in danger and succeeded in showing the brazenness of some pedophiles.
Neither the Missouri nor the Red Bud man has been charged with a crime.
This story was originally published May 24, 2021 at 1:16 PM.
