Engineer Arrested for Attempting to Sext Minor

An engineer from New York City, who previously claimed to create “digital experiences for children” at Meta, has been arrested after he confessed to attempting to sext a 13-year-old girl during an undercover operation.

Josh Felker, 44, whose LinkedIn profile is now removed, acknowledged that he had been grooming and sending explicit messages to what he thought were teenage girls while being recorded by Predator Poachers Long Island, a group that targets potential predators.

In a shocking conversation with someone posing as the victim’s grandmother, Felker stated, “I wish I could be her father, even though something inappropriate had already happened.” This admission came as part of a video that is set to be shared soon.

The group reported that Felker, who claimed to be an engineering manager, reached out to a 13-year-old “bait account” back in May and had been in regular communication since then.

During the operation, Mike Villani, one of the predator catchers, mentioned that Felker made various inappropriate comments, attempted to instruct the girl on masturbation, and sent multiple explicit images and videos of himself. He even tried to arrange a meeting with her.

The encounter escalated when the group confronted Felker outside his apartment in Murray Hill. Initially, he attempted to flee but ultimately decided to speak with them, likely due to concerns about his mother-in-law being inside and hearing about his actions.

Once shown the chat logs, Felker admitted to sending the messages to a fictional teenage boy, stating this wasn’t his first experience of grooming minors. He shockingly claimed, “I’ve done this before with underage girls,” and made an odd analogy comparing the teens to “ports in a storm.”

Felker further bizarrely argued that issues within his marriage and lacking intimacy led him to seek out these illicit interactions online.

The interaction with the group lasted nearly two hours before Felker was arrested a few blocks from his Manhattan residence, with police arriving shortly after he confessed to his actions.

He faces charges related to distributing obscene material to a minor and jeopardizing a child’s welfare.

Felker pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Thursday and is set to return to court on September 9.

No response has been given from Mehta regarding the situation.