PlayStation senior VP fired after allegedly appearing in amateur pedophile sting video

Sony Interactive Entertainment have fired senior VP George Cacioppo, after he allegedly appeared in an amateur pedophile sting video.

What Happened
People v. Preds is a YouTube channel dedicated to exposing individuals attempting to groom and solicit sex from children. This includes masquerading as underage users. They claimed the individual in their latest video was Senior Vice President of PlayStation Network George Cacioppo.

The group used a decoy on what appears to be gay dating app Grindr. Dated October 10th and December 3rd; the alleged chat logs (downloadable for a short time here, also shared on Twitter here) show who they claim to be Cacioppo, seeking oral sex from someone he believed to be 15 year old boy. That account initiated the conversation, offering oral sex and sending pictures of a penis. The decoy account stated “i think we talked before im only 14,” “plz dont be mad,” and “i can keep a secret.” The alleged Cacioppo account did not break off contact after this point, and asked for photos of the decoy’s penis again. The account then asked about the decoy’s sexual history, with the decoy replying with (fake) stories. The decoy offered to meet. Whether this meeting went ahead is unclear.

The second time the alleged Cacioppo account contacted the decoy, the decoy stated he was “finally 15.” While the account asked “are you really 15,” and “how old are you,” he did not break off conversation. The account then asked and discussed sexual stories with the decoy- such as first sexual experiences- asked for photos of the decoy’s penis, and offered and requested oral sex. This second conversation was when the account sent his GPS location- a function of the dating app. After this, the decoy managed to convince the account to use his real phone number. 47 year old Jeff (according to the chat logs) was now 64 year old George. The decoy managed to convince that number to send a screencap of their app conversation- further linking the two- and a photo of themselves. The image highly resembles Cacioppo, even wearing a PlayStation 5 t-shirt. The decoy reiterated once again that he was 15, and the account holder did not break off the meeting. The decoy then met up publicly with the account holder, seemingly in front of his house. While the decoy kept a high-pitched voice for a few moments, they then turned on the light on their camera and asked “who are you here to meet tonight Jeff?” After this, the account holder (in his PS5 t-shirt, resembling the man in the photos in the text messages) went inside the house.

“We can have a conversation or I can call the cops Jeff,” the decoy stated. “Jeff” said no, and closed the door. The decoy then yelled openly what the “Jeff” had done, and that he was calling the cops. The decoy offered again to have a conversation or “get loud.” Using a smart doorbell, “Jeff” played it’s automated message “may I know the purpose of your visit?” As such, the decoy continued to yell, and shone his torch through the upstairs window.

It is unclear if the police were called, arrived, or made charges. Some other videos on the People v. Preds channel have shown police arrive, and make arrests. The channel also does not appear to make follow-up videos regarding prosecution, though one video allegedly shows a registered sex offender being released, while one of their own group was detained.

Sony Interactive Entertainment fired George Cacioppo. As stated in an email to CNET, Sony stated “We are aware of the situation and the employee in question has been terminated from employment.” Cacioppo did not respond to comment when CNET reached out to him via LinkedIn. This comes after Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan was “disheartened and frankly stunned” at the sexual harassment and discrimination allegations surrounding Activision Blizzard.

Response
Users on Twitter began to point out the irony in PlayStation's Censorship Policy after this story broke out.