Abuse survivor’s sting catches alleged predator in Saratoga Co.
Michael Reyes, a graduate of Columbia University, has spent over a decade reporting on Albany's economic landscape. His previous roles include business journalism at the Daily Gazette and freelance work for several financial publications. He specializes in uncovering the effects of local policies on small businesses and entrepreneurship.
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Abuse survivor’s sting catches alleged predator in Saratoga Co. Dan Levy and Sarah Darmanjian WNYT Alleged predator arrested in Saratoga Co. after sting operation Eric Arthur talks about exposing alleged predator from Colorado who flew to area planning to assault three children. MALTA, N.Y. (WNYT)- A sting led to the arrest of a Colorado man in Saratoga Co. who is accused of trying to meet children for sex. NewsChannel 13 spoke with Eric Arthurs on Wednesday as more details emerged about the arrest of Preston Purdy, a 42-year-old Colorado man now held in the Saratoga County Jail. Purdy is charged with attempted rape of a child and aggravated sex abuse. Purdy flew into Albany Airport late Sunday night after chatting online with someone he believed was a mother offering her three children for sex. That person was Arthurs, who said he posed as the mother in a chat room on the dark side of the web. What led to it? Arthurs, 41, said he began confronting child predators about 20 years ago after being a victim of childhood sex abuse. This is not the first sting operation involving Arthurs, but it may be the biggest. “Well, it wasn’t necessarily a trap,” Arthurs said. “It’s just I put out the post, and it’s an adult’s moral obligation to, you know, obviously decline it. So it’s… to decline the offer, I guess you could say, and being as though the fact that he didn’t, I mean, it really wasn’t like a trap. He had every opportunity to say no.” What investigators say happened Purdy allegedly hired an Uber after landing, then allegedly bought twist ties from a hardware store, vodka from a liquor store and marijuana gummies from a dispensary. Purdy then went to a bed-and-breakfast in Saratoga County expecting to meet the mother for the purpose of raping her three children. “He had every opportunity to say no or to block the profile or to stop responding in text at any given time,” Arthurs said. NewsChannel 13 learned Purdy does not have a criminal history. Purdy has been charged with attempted rape of a child and aggravated sex abuse. He’s being held at the Saratoga County Jail.