WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens man is in jail after investigators said he was caught with child pornography and tried to lure who he thought was a 13-year-old to have sex.
The suspect, Nicholas Watson, 43, was in court Thursday morning to face a judge.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Watson started sending inappropriate messages to who he thought was a 13-year-old girl on an app called "Whisper."
However, police said he was actually messaging a decoy.
Investigators said Watson wanted to meet with the other texter at a Walmart in Delray Beach in April.
Police said the man showed up at the Walmart where he was confronted by police and Dustin Lampros, who runs a social media group called "561 Predator Catcher." The organization confronts people attempting to have sex with minors.
Lampros provided police with two Google Drive links that contained chat logs between Watson and the decoy used to communicate with him.
Hundreds of child pornography files were found on Watson's phone, according to police.
Watson was arrested on Tuesday and faces nine counts of possessing child pornography and one count of traveling to meet a minor for sex.
He's being held on $60,000 bond.
