Edison, NJ man arrested in bold child predator trapping fiasco – New Jersey 101.5 FM
EDISON – A bombastic Middlesex Youtuber faces charges after an amateur attempt to catch a child predator turned violent.
Christo Makropoulos restrained one alleged predator with help from his partner Ramy El-Daly, according to an affidavit. Police said the two men forced the victim to stay in the backseat of El-Daly’s car.
El-Daly, another Youtuber, told the alleged predator he may need to “cut off his pee-pee,” court documents state.
“I might castrate your sack and your pee-pee,” El-Daly allegedly said. “Tell me one good reason why we should save his pee-pee.”
Makropoulos has gained local infamy as an agitator with a video camera. His Youtube account Jersey Watcher is an archive of his frequent confrontations with authority.
The 34-year-old has made a habit of speaking at public meetings, often with an ensuing conflict. There are also dozens of videos depicting run-ins with police.
One video posted by MyCentralJersey in July 2019 shows police escorting Makropoulos, holding a sign reading “I hate France,” out of an Edison council meeting.
Now he’s charged with making terroristic threats and one count of criminal restraint servitude.
Together, Makropoulous and El-Daly created a fake account on Grindr posing as a 15-year-old male teen.
On Feb. 28, they confronted the one alleged predator and held him in the back seat of El-Daly’s Tesla. That’s when he threatened to cut off the man’s “pee-pee,” police said.
With this threat, Makropoulos and El-Daly allegedly coerced the victim into helping confront a second predator.
Then early the morning of March 2, a third man reached out to the account. He sent shirtless photos and arranged to meet at a residence on Fox Road, according to the affidavit.
Instead of a 15-year-old, he found the two men who had lured him. Court documents show El-Daly got into a scuffle with the alleged predator.
The next day, Makropoulos went to the Edison police station. He turned over a flash drive with texts and a video of one confrontation, leading to his own arrest.
However, it seems the Chris Hansen impersonators’ efforts were not in vain.
Police also arrested two of the alleged child predators. Jordan Grundy, 21, and Anthony Cotos, 29, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and enticing a child. Investigators are looking for a third man.
These were not Makropoulous and El-Daly’s only attempts at luring child predators. The pair collaborated in mid-February attempting a similar sting on two men at once.
They claim to have used similar tactics to lure the couple to a motel. El-Daly’s video [Warning: language] shows one of the men already naked in bed waiting for the fake teen to arrive.
Makropoulos was held for eight days at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center. His next hearing is set for March 31.
NJ teachers and educators caught in sex crime busts
Over the past few years, state lawmakers have taken on the challenge of dealing with accused child predators among the ranks of teachers and educators.
The follow individuals were arrested over the past several years. Some have been convicted and sentenced to prison, while others have accepted plea deals for probation.
Others cases are still pending, including some court delays amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
NJ arrests 31 accused child predators in “Operation 24/7”
The suspects “possessed and or distributed videos and images of child sexual abuse, including in many cases videos of young children being raped by adults,” Grewal said.
Chat apps and gaming platforms remain favorite hunting grounds for child predators and even as the pandemic winds down, many children have continued to spend more time online.
State Police received 39% more tips in just the first 6 months of 2021 than they received in the entire year in 2019. The following are suspects charged in “Operation 24/7.”