LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. — A 28-year-old Lumpkin County man is facing multiple charges following an encounter with a private group that conducts online predator stings.

Ethan Chase Hulsey, 28, was arrested Aug. 5 following an investigation by the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division.

According to the sheriff’s office, deputies initially responded to a call involving Hulsey after an encounter with Pred Task Force, a private citizen-led organization that uses online decoys posing as minors and records encounters with suspected offenders.

Deputies documented the incident and recovered evidence but initially released Hulsey due to a lack of probable cause at that time. After further investigation by detectives, authorities said probable cause was established, and Hulsey was arrested around 2:50 p.m. and taken to the Lumpkin County Detention Center.

Hulsey is charged with two counts of obscene internet contact with a child and one count of distributing obscene materials. Local reporting indicated he was being held without bond.

Pred Task Force is not a law enforcement agency. They are a private group that aims to identify and hold child-predators accountable. The group conducts its own online investigations and often turns information gathered during its encounters over to authorities. The group also records and publishes some of its confrontations on social media. They have a notable social media following.

In Hulsey’s case, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office conducted its own investigation before determining there was probable cause for an arrest.

The case remains under investigation, and additional information could be released as it progresses.

Hulsey is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.