George Cacioppo, a senior vice president at Sony Interactive Entertainment who had worked in engineering and on the PlayStation Store since 2013, has been “terminated” from his position after he reportedly appeared over the weekend in a pedophile sting operation’s video.
People v. Preds, a vigilante group who attempt to catch and then publicise men allegedly engaged in pedophilia, posted this video on the weekend after claiming that they had impersonated a 15 year-old boy and made contact with Cacioppo online, who had then invited them to his home for sex.
People v. Preds claim that they had conversations with the man they allege is Cacioppo—who was using the alias “Jeff”—on dating site Grindr, and after discussions agreed to meet up at “Jeff’s” home. The video above begins with a member of the group approaching a home and greeting a man by the name of “Jeff”, who opens the door wearing a PS5 t-shirt, before having the door closed in their faces after revealing the purpose of their filming.
While the video on its own shows no crimes being committed, and can not confirm Cacioppo’s identity, People v. Preds also posted a number of screenshots they say detail the arrangements for the encounter, which include an alleged selfie of Cacioppo wearing the same shirt that “Jeff” is wearing in the video.
CNET now report that the senior vice president has been fired, with a Sony representative saying in a statement “We are aware of the situation and the employee in question has been terminated from employment”.
Meanwhile a representative from People v. Preds tells Kotaku that the reason this information was released publicly, rather than handed directly to authorities, was that “The police department doesn’t work with ‘Cyber groups’ like us. That’s when the internet takes over.” Nevertheless, they also say that “evidence has been turned into the authorities”.
