Video Vigilantes Star In "To Catch A Case"

SEPTEMBER 16--A group of five young Florida men is facing an assortment of criminal charges for battering and falsely imprisoning a man who they targeted in a “To Catch a Predator”-style sting that was recorded and “uploaded to a website for public viewing for profit,” according to court records.

As alleged in arrest affidavits, the video vigilantism occurred around 2 AM Friday at a home in Largo, a city in the Tampa Bay area.

The 28-year-old victim arrived at the residence expecting to meet a minor for a sexual encounter. The man apparently had been lured to the short-term rental property via a dating app or some other fraudulent online enticement.

After arriving at the residence, the victim was forced onto a couch while being yelled at to “sit the fuck down” and “shut the fuck up.” One of the assailants placed the victim in a rear-naked choke hold while others “repeatedly threatened” him and warned of “police intervention.”

While pinning the victim down, the defendants stood in a circle around the man and “physically attacked” him while he was “trapped and unable to leave” and “was begging and pleading for the attack to stop,” cops charge.

One of the men arrested, Matthew Qualey, 19, (seen upper left) “forcibly shaved the head of the victim against his will” for “humiliation purposes.” The group of attackers “repeatedly threatened the victim and coerced him into doing acts of humiliation,” which are not further described in court documents.

The accused men recorded the incident and planned to “profit monetarily” from the video, which was “uploaded to a website for public viewing for profit without the victim’s consent.” The affidavits do not identify the website.

In addition to Qualey, the September 12 arrests netted Rolan Ralsaj, 20; Erald Hashorva, 18; Dylan Gentry, 19; and Andro Issa, 19. Each man faces a felony false imprisonment charge, while some also have been hit with battery and/or robbery counts.

Issa was charged with child neglect, a felony, for bringing a female juvenile to the site of the sting, which cops described as “an area with an unknown subject believed to potentially be a sexual offender.” The girl, cops say, was visible in the livestreamed video.

A second minor involved in the sting was charged with robbery and battery. Issa (pictured above, bottom right), is identified in court records as “caregiver” to the arrested juvenile.

The defendants were each released on bond from the county jail Sunday, and a judge has ordered them to have no contact with the victim, a Clearwater resident. (3 pages)