Meta Worker who Developed ‘Digital Experiences for Kids’ Admits to Trying to Sext Child in Undercover NYC Sting
By Brandon Cruz
A New York City engineer who said he created “digital experiences for kids” at social media giant Meta was busted after he admitted to trying to sext a 13-year-old during an undercover sting.
Josh Felker, 44, who’s now on leave from the Facebook parent company, admitted he had been grooming and sexting someone he thought was a teen girl during a sting by Predator Poachers Long Island, a vigilante group that seeks to catch would-be pervs.
“Even though inappropriate things had already gone on, I just almost wish I could be her dad,” Felker, who is married and has a small child, shockingly told a member of the group posing as his would-be victim’s grandmother on the phone, according to video of the encounter set to be released Monday.
Josh Felker, 44, whose now-deleted LinkedIn page detailed that he worked on creating “great digital experiences for kids” at Meta, was caught on video admitting to sexting someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Felker, who listed his job on a now-deleted LinkedIn account as an Engineering Manager who built “digital experiences for kids” for Meta reached out to the group’s 13-year-old “decoy account” in May and has been messaging them regularly since, the group said.
It didn’t take long before Felker allegedly started making a slew of sick remarks — including trying to teach the girl how to masturbate — while sending multiple photos and videos of himself doing the same and even trying to set up days to meet her in person, Mike Villani, one of the predator catchers who led the poach, told The Post.
The group approached Felker to his surprise outside of his Murray Hill apartment Wednesday, and he initially tried to flee the poachers before eventually agreeing to sit down at a nearby location to talk, as his mother-in-law was inside, and he didn’t want her to overhear that he was cheating on his wife by grooming who he thought was a minor, the video showed.
“Even though inappropriate things had already gone on, I just almost wish I could be her dad,” Felker, who is married and has a small child, shockingly told the vigilante posing as his victim’s grandmother on the phone.
When confronted with his chat logs, Felker admitted it was him messaging who he thought was the young teen, who doesn’t actually exist, and detailed that this was not the first minor he’s groomed, according to the video.
“I did this once before with another girl who is underaged,” he said, strangely likening the teens to “any port in a storm.”
Mike Villani, right, is one of the predator catchers who led the poach and set up the phone call with the fake grandma, whom he came clean to.
Felker then bizarrely blamed his wife and their sex-less marriage for fueling his sick perversions, which he said has pushed him into dark corners of the internet.
The group’s encounter with Felker, which was just under two hours long, ended with police arriving just after he allegedly finished admitting to his sick crimes, and was arrested just blocks away from his Manhattan apartment.
Felker is charged with disseminating indecent material to minors and endangering the welfare of a child.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday and is due back in court on Sept.9.
A Meta spokesperson told The Post that Felker was placed on leave.
“We will cooperate with law enforcement in its investigation,” the spokesperson said.
