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Crime

Students Set Up Sting With Fake Facebook Page That Gets ‘Creepy’ IT Employee Fired

Oct. 13, 2012 1:12pm Liz Klimas

Bronx Students Trick IT Employee Into Asking 16 Year Old Out on a Fake Facebook Page

Kevin Eckstein denies continuing conversations with a 16-year-old student but an investigation report alleges otherwise. (Image via LinkedIn)

Two students at a Bronx high school getting a “creepy” vibe from one of the school’s IT technicians decided to create a phony Facebook page to gain proof for some of their feelings. The sting worked and the tech has since been fired for taking the bait.

The New York Post reports a male and female student attending Cinema School established a profile using the name Sarah Archer. Kevin Eckstein, 38, became friends with Archer and eventually ended up asking her out on several dates, the Post found in a report by the Special Commissioner of Investigation.

Eckstein was fired from his post at the school for these actions before the start of this school year. The Post reports formal authorities becoming involved in the investigation after a teacher heard the two teen detectives talking about their plan.

Eckstein told the Post though that he didn’t realize her age:

“When I discovered in the conversation after two days that she was 16, I ended contact with her. I blocked her,” he said.

“Two kids out of the whole school who didn’t like me attempted to talk to me on Facebook and it created a buzz within the school and it led to an investigation,” he added. “It ended and I left the school.”

The Post points out that the report says the fake Facebook user informed Eckstein that she was 16 though.

The Post then anonymously quotes one of the students involved in the Facebook sting who said they never intended for Eckstein, a father of two, to get fired. The student said they had only wanted to see if the comments made about Eckstein by other students were true.

CBS Local from New York reports a parent saying she believes the situation should not have gotten to this point.

“That’s disgusting,” parent Missy Vaughn said, according to CBS 2. “How could I send my child to school thinking that my child was safe? They should have told someone. If anything, they should have told the principal, somebody.”

UPI reports that Eckstein did not face criminal charges for his actions, which he has continued to deny.

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Comments (61)

AnAmericanToo
Posted on October 15, 2012 at 11:12am
So TWO children in this school took it upon themselves to ‘…see if the guy was as creepy as they had heard….” What kind of immature action on their part is that? These two children stated that they ‘…never intended to get him fired…” that suggests that they didn’t think he really was ‘…creepy…’.

I think these two children have spent way too much time watching movies in their Cinema School program and thought they could be junior cops. These two children should be re-evaluated to see if they should have access to FaceBook themselves.

Maybe the man was irresponsible though one does not know about his conduct being inappropriate to simply be asking someone out on a date.

I was in a public high school when a small segment of radical, Marxist students didn’t like the two white male hall monitors. They took it upon themselves to beat these adult men up. The school caved in and replaced them with ‘Marxist, student approved’ hall monitors. Turns out that the two new Hispanic males were not acceptable either to the radical, Marxist, minority students so within months they beat these men up as well. Needless to say the school caved in to these violent students and the school brought in yet a THIRD pair of adult men to monitor the halls. Eventually, even these men must not have been Marxist enough for the violent students because eventually the school had to bring in a and permanently station an armed police officer at the high school

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grayling646
Posted on October 14, 2012 at 4:22pm
That was a rambling article.

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RaydocX
Posted on October 14, 2012 at 11:43am
Rory Miller in his work about Violence talks specifically about ‘creepy’… for many men there is not a recognition of that vibe in fellow men who creep nearly every woman the men know out… it’s not a total surprise, since that sense is a vestigial reflex that kept us alive when fire was a rare and precious commodity and what went bump in the night could kill and eat you. The threat is not usually toward men, but to those women who are close to us.

He advocates ‘borrowing intuition’… when your loved one or a trusted co-worker comments ‘he creeps me out,’ LISTEN TO THAT, even if you don’t understand the why… that’s not someone to trust where that loved one/ friend is concerned. Maybe not where just you are concerned.

It’s a completely reasonable and appropriate precaution… as Miller states, your intuition or ‘borrowed intuition’ is only interested in protecting you. PC drivel like ‘profiling’ be damned. And it’s why the government’s refusal to use profiling in a broader than merely ‘race based’ manner, labeling all profiling as racist, puts every person at risk.

Fortunately, these students did not trust that ‘the system’ would protect them. Entrapment? Enticement? More BS designed to redirect blame and responsibility away from the guilty party. It amuses me that their successful effort is being trumpted by media outlets, whereas any suggestion TSA should act on ‘who’s creepy’ instead of ‘randomly’ seaching 98y/o grandma is i

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woodyee
Posted on October 14, 2012 at 9:00am
Unless the story is incomplete (wouldn’t THAT be a surprise), I don’t see anything here to warrant a termination, let alone an investigation, unless the employee was using school property against regulations or unless he, in fact, continued to lure theses kids AFTER learning they were 16. He didn’t necessarily have to know they were 16 – if he knew they were STUDENTS at the high school, that’s really all the evidence you need to know he was doing something inappropriate.

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statutoryape
Posted on October 14, 2012 at 1:22am
we’ve made almost no progress since the salem witch trials.

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Rowgue
Posted on October 14, 2012 at 12:32am
All I see from what is presented is a couple of kids that decided to try to get somebody fired they thought was weird.

There is nothing even resembling any evidence that this guy was some sort of child predator in this story. This is just pisspoor journalism plain and simple.

If no criminal charges were filed then there is a reason. There is no criminal on the planet that is prosecuted with more vigor in this day and age than child predators and sexual predators. If no charges were filed then it’s because there is no case.

I mean honestly, they file these types of charges at the drop of a hat. Even in cases where there is no evidence to support the accusation and any evidence that does exist seems to point to something else entirely. If they’re refusing to file charges then it’s because there isn’t a single shred of evidence that supports the story.

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- statutoryape
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 1:17am
  Rowgue: ” If no charges were filed then it’s because there is no case”
  
  That’s exactly what I think. By law, he is innocent. But it’s safe to say a large population of people think he’s a bad man. The teens said he messaged their profile many times…so show me screen shots or a print out or some shred of evidence that their claims are true. And if they were that determined to get him busted you bet they would be just as determined to file charges if they could….but, like you & I said, no charges were filed so there’s no case.
  
  Report this comment
- yougottabekidding
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 8:58am
  Do not know or have formed an opinion on it, but obviously he is not in the teachers union as he would be sitting some where till it’s time for him to retire at full pay.
  
  Report this comment
- Taquoshi
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 9:22am
  One more reason not to use Facebook at all.
  
  Report this comment
- TROONORTH
  Posted on October 15, 2012 at 9:11am
  I think I smell a HUGE law suit coming!
  
  Report this comment
- Rowgue
  Posted on October 15, 2012 at 9:52pm
  I’m not even really convinced that he’s a “bad guy”. The kids set the whole thing up. They are the ones that approached him. There wasn’t anything presented that claimed, let alone showed, he was trolling kid related websites or anything. There wasn’t anything said that would indicate he was in any way seeking out kids.
  
  The only thing that would make it somewhat sketchy is if he continued to talk to them once he found out they were kids. But he claims he stopped talking to them when he found out. They say he didn’t, but there is no mention of chat logs that prove anything they’re saying is true. If they went into this knowing they were setting up a sting, then where are the chat logs?
  
  Our society has become all to ready to convict anyone of anything with little to no evidence. Sorry but I’m going to need a little more than a couple of teenagers telling me a story about what he supposedly did.
  
  Report this comment
WINNEBAGOMAN
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:58pm
This story is very incomplete. The guy said when he found out the girl was 16 he blocked her. That sounds like an appropriate adult response to me. Who exactly is in the wrong here? I mean did that happen or not. What did the report say?

Sloppy work today.

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- Ilikepeople
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 4:58pm
  Very soon there is going to be a Global tax for using the Internet anyways on top of any taxes you may pay to your state and local governments, so I’d say the Internet will eventually be doomed anyways. And of course it will compound the financial problems in the U.S.
  
  Report this comment
- Ilikepeople
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 5:03pm
  See because while all you dogs are paying attention to the election sniffing your dung the U.N is moving ahead while a global tax is gaining traction, and even while dung is getting sniffed the U.S Supreme Court is trying to figure out how to prevent you from selling your personal property.
  
  Report this comment
- Megapril
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 9:52pm
  @ILIKEPEOPLE: Why is it that conspiracy theorists never provide evidence for their posts? Try providing a link or reference, and then maybe people can get behind what you say…
  
  Report this comment
- 1TrueOne55
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 12:00am
  @MEGAPRIL: This is the Blaze and you’re responsible for your own knowledge. There is a very good search engine that works with every computer and brain. It is called GOOGLE and if you don’t like that there is BING, Alta Vista or even some in Communist China.
  
  They are all out there waiting to help you get smarter. You could even try DickMorris.com
  
  Report this comment
jackact
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:47pm
…Oh, so this is the purpose of Facebook?

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- teebubba
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 8:52pm
  It just goes to show what a potential minefield Facebook has become for adult males. If you are like many fools….I use a cousin of mine as an example…he makes friends with everyone willy-nilly.
  These teenagers did not enter into this process with clean hands and it appears their entrapment worked for their purposes.
  I’m becoming more convinced Facebook is becoming an all round bad idea.
  
  Report this comment
statutoryape
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:42pm
No charges were filed so under the law this guy is innocent. But none of you respects the law because you believe the end justifies the means. “By law” aka The Constitution. Are you starting to see why I point out that many people are religious bigots? It’s a complete mob mentality here.

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- Jaycen
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 4:40pm
  You almost form a cogent thought.
  
  What, precisely, does religious bigotry have to do with not following the Constitution in this context, must less anything else?
  
  Report this comment
- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 4:49pm
  Not guilty in the eyes of the law is different than being creepy and getting fired for it. Being proactive is necessary when dealing with children/young adults,no legal proof is needed.
  
  Report this comment
- statutoryape
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 6:08pm
  Jaycen
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 4:40pm
  
  You almost form a cogent thought.
  
  What, precisely, does religious bigotry have to do with not following the Constitution in this context, must less anything else?
  
  Sup, Jaycen. Here’s what I was trying to illustrate:
  
  Christians hold up the 10 Commandments as the ultimate source of truth.
  Americans hold up the Constitution as the ultimate source of truth.
  
  “Thou shall not lie” – well that commandment was ignored.
  “Innocent until proven guilty” – well that part of the law was ignored.
  
  But they rationalize this as okay because this situation seems like an exception. He may have done everything he was accused of but does that mean it’s okay to break a commandment or bend the law in an attempt to prove it? Breaking a commandment in an attempt to expose someone else breaking another commandment?
  
  My haters are many but do you accept my reasoning as a coherent thought?
  
  Report this comment
- woodyee
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 8:56am
  ExRepub, I might be misunderstanding what you wrote, but from the looks of it, you’re saying that if a child points “the finger”, the one pointed at is guilty until proven innocent. That IS the proverbial witch-hunt. I think perhaps that when a child points a finger, it should be looked into with all seriousness, but I can see nothing but wrong coming out of it if the employee is disciplined (letter in the official record or termination) with no basis in fact.
  
  Report this comment
13th Imam
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:16pm
A Married father of two?

Living with his wife and 2 children?

Both children with the same woman?

If, If he knew she was 16, why did he ask her out?

With all the shows catching dirtbags luring children out over the internet, why would you take any chance? Oh, Nevermind

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statutoryape
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:49pm
” He was not criminally charged”

AKA This guy is innocent. So why is the Blaze flashing this guy’s name around like he’s a sex offender? I find that extremely reckless journalism.

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:55pm
  Try going to the FIRST source of his name being put out. You should be worrying about our Sec of State, VP and Dufus in Chief lying about having murdered one of our ambassadors.
  
  Report this comment
- JUSTANOTHEROPINION
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:17pm
  @STATUTORYAPE, First, this would have been publicized by other outlets anyway. Second, the attempt was there obviously. Third, I’ll bet a dollar to a donut that if this was on one of the Liberal sites you wouldn’t have opened your pie hole about it. Finally, fourth, bugger off fool!!!
  
  Report this comment
- face.chewer
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:24pm
  Be careful, YOU may be the victim of a sting. Take this internet porno girl, Felicity Fey, she is over 18 so it’s safe to click on her images right? WRONG. Some of the images of her on the internet are being used by the cops as bait for under 18 stings. That means that even though she is over 18 if you click on the wrong image of her you’ll be on the cops list of people to watch and you’ll never get off that list.
  
  felicityfey.com. CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS – U.S.C. TITLE 18, SECTION 2257 COMPLIANCE In compliance with United States
  
  Report this comment
- American Soldier (Separated)
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:31pm
  So reposting it for even more people to view it isn’t reckless?
  
  So two wrongs make a right?
  
  I would have never known this mans name or his story had the Blaze not reported it.
  
  Report this comment
- Blkcatwm
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:39pm
  Excuse Me!? @statutoryape Just by your moniker I can see you must be one of those “Creepy” guys. For your information, he IS GUILTY….he was caught replying and talking on Facebook to an underage girl. Just because he wasn’t arrested at this time, doesn’t mean he won’t be in the future. If it was your daughter or sister, I’d hope you’d be protective and realize that this could just be the start for creeps like him to get into more dangerous scenarios involving children and young women.
  
  Report this comment
- ThePostman
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:54pm
  Stings are creepy, and the people that do them are creepy too.
  
  How long would it take a tenured teacher to be fired for this? How about a parent? if parents are caught talking to their 16 year olds, should they be locked up? The answer, of course, is yes. Anyone trying to talk to a 16 year old for any reason is mentally deranged.
  
  Report this comment
- statutoryape
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:54pm
  Check out Beekeeper’s post below mine. He/She is absolutely correct. By law, he’s innocent until proven guilty. But since I don’t go with the mainstream opinion you call me “creepy” and accuse me of possibly being a sex offender? Just like the Bible you are cherry picking from the Constitution – quit using them as a weapon. LAW: It’s what keeps us civilized.
  
  Report this comment
- BANNER79
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 5:00pm
  By the way, it’s “i.e.”, not “AKA”; duh.
  
  Report this comment
MartyTr
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:42pm
Missy Vaughn(parent in article), you’re an idiot. The unions would have protected him without proof. I know I work at a school.

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beekeeper
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:22pm
The kids were going for their 15 minutes of Warhol-promised, O’Keefe inspired fame – instead they created a mess with no easy answers. I doubt these kids can even spell, let alone define, “entrapment”…

For example – how did they arrange for their 16 year-old on Facebook to be friends with the IT worker? I bet they issued a “Friend Request” – is that his fault?

Did the profile for the 16 year-old indicate their age? I suspect it didn’t.

The poor IT worker fell into a legal grey area, I suspect he will sue and win a false termination suit, but that doesn’t mean he is or is not a dirt bag.

The one thing we know for sure, his wife learned a wee bit more about him than she probably knew before this happened…

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- QuincySmith
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:39pm
  BeeKeeper;
  
  The article includes, (true or not), “The Post points out that the report says the fake Facebook user informed Eckstein that she was 16 though.”
  
  Report this comment
- statutoryape
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:35pm
  @BeeKeeper, I pretty much agree with you. I’m going to safely assume that no one here is a pedophile and we all agree that child molesters are demented individuals. The part of the story that bothered me the most was the method these teens used to entrap this guy. It really is entrapment and it reminds me of the show “To Catch a Predator” with Chris Hansen. The show was extremely unethical and their reckless journalistic sting operations ruined many guys’ lives. At first I was for the show but it didn’t take long before I saw that this wasn’t about helping people, it was about NBC’s ratings and money. They even chased down a Texas DA to his house, called the police on him, had the cameras rolling and the DA ends up shooting himself. That’s the sick truth that people don’t see or acknowledge.
  
  Report this comment
- American Soldier (Separated)
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:56pm
  At what point was that knowledge given? Was it the same time the guy said he found out and blocked the profile?
  
  Report this comment
- Chet Hempstead
  Posted on October 14, 2012 at 5:36am
  A lot depends on how explicit his messages to her were. There is absolutely no law against taking a 16-year old girl out to dinner, as long as you don’t try to have sex with her until she turns (in New York) 17. The fake Facebook page said that the fake girl went to Lehman High School, so there is not the kind of clear violation of professional ethics that you would have if she had claimed to go to the school where he worked.
  
  Report this comment
GoodStuff
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:20pm
Just another Obama voter now unemployed…plenty of those.

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AJAYW
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:14pm
Holder will find a way to charge the kids for setting up a black man.

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The-Monk
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:45pm
“How could I send my child to school thinking that my child was safe?”

Huh??? Did I read that right?

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:53pm
  Hi MONK, I had to read that a couple of times too. Still, sounds like something is missing, and the entire story seems to be missing a lot of details too.
  
  Report this comment
- BryanB
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:11pm
  Hi Monk……..
  
  Report this comment
- ShyLow
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:15pm
  16 should be legal. Women wouldn’t be such Divas if they had a little more competition. They would know how to cook by age 25, guaranteed.
  
  Report this comment
- beekeeper
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:17pm
  She’s trying to say she made a false assumption that her child was safe.
  
  Report this comment
- FEMALL
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:23pm
  MONK–You are most popular. FEMALL enjoys your posts.
  
  Report this comment
- duhTruth
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:37pm
  Who ever wrote this story, must have been half asleep or drinking on the job. Based on the headline I was anticipating reading about a sting operation, but quickly realized I had read the enitre story without ever reading about the sting operation. Kind of a sloppy article.
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:42pm
Paging Mr Holder…..

Paging Mr. Sharpton….

Paging Mr. Jackson….

“I don’t have all the facts but, the young detectives acted stupidly.”

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Dancing_In_The_Ruins
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:41pm
How did they bait him? Seeing how big Facebook is it must have been some task. Sounds like stalking to me.

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- dbg1969
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 11:38pm
  How could he “stalk” a recently created fake FB member account??? The kids most likely used a photo of a very attractive female for the fake account and friend requested him. Like someones else suggested this is a very incomplete story and poor journalism. This reeks of baiting and entrapment
  
  Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:39pm
Who names a High School “Cinema”.

Do they teach by playing movies all day? LOL

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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:58pm
  Hi MONK, Its the real deal, but the included video has me wondering about their real initiatives.
  
  Report this comment
- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:59pm
  Geez, forgot to include the link.
  http://thecinemaschool.org/
  
  Report this comment
- crackerone
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:08pm
  I think you mis-read Mr Monk. They found the art teacher “Cinnamon” Bender in the supply closet with pictures of Sarah’s younger brother. Charges pending!
  
  Report this comment
- QuincySmith
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 2:35pm
  Thanks RJJinGadsden, for the link – it seems the whole school is ‘creepy’.
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:11pm
  Hi RJJ,
  
  Thanks…. now I know why all those OWS people are always filming everything.
  
  No math, no science; just give em a camera and watch the graduation rate increase.
  
  Report this comment
blackyb
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:21pm
Yes, and he can now get him a job at the White House, helping the phony Prez.

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Gonzo
Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:18pm
“Eckstein was fired from his post at the school for these actions before the start of this school year.”
Damn Wango, your unemployment is about to run out, any prospects?

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- M13
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 1:26pm
  Wango can clean my toilets for me, I heard he has a talent for it.
  
  Report this comment
- stumpy68
  Posted on October 13, 2012 at 3:54pm
  M13
  
  No that was a talent for shoveling not cleaning
  
  Report this comment

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