Sony Interactive Entertainment has fired a PlayStation executive following his appearance in a YouTube video that was shared on Friday by an amateur sting group specializing in tracking down pedophiles.
The executive in question is George Cacioppo, a senior VP engineer who has worked on PSN and the PlayStation Store since 2013. The video by People vs. Preds alleges that Cacioppo was trying to get together with 15-year-old boy.
“We are aware of the situation and the employee in question has been terminated from employment,” Sony said in a statement that was received by CNET today.
From CNET’s report:
In the video, a cameraman is seen walking down a street toward a house that Cacioppo is standing outside of. He then asks Cacioppo who he’s planning on meeting, referring to him as “Jeff.” As the cameraman asks more questions, Cacioppo walks back into the house and closes the door while refusing to answer. The cameraman proceeds to start yelling he would call the cops on Cacioppo.
According to a Google Drive link posted in the video’s description, Cacioppo allegedly spoke with a person who said they were 15 years old on Grindr, the social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people. The two exchanged pictures, and Cacioppo told the decoy that his name was “Jeff.” He then allegedly provided the decoy with his address in order to have sex. The decoy said they would take an Uber to his location and Cacioppo was allegedly waiting outside.
A representative from People vs. Preds told Kotaku in a separate report that the group decided to release the information publicly because it would have been ignored by the police.
“The police department doesn’t work with ‘Cyber groups’ like us,” they said. “That’s when the internet takes over.”
Source: People v. Preds (via CNET, Kotaku)