Predator catchers group confronts man who went to Novi hotel to meet child

Man was arrested, charged

NOVI, Mich. – Police in Novi arrested a man accused of trying to lure someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl to a hotel.

The man was confronted outside of the hotel by a predator catchers group. Predator Catchers Indianapolis traveled to Michigan from Indianapolis and streamed the confrontation on Facebook live.

The group looks for men online who are searching for children to meet up with. The group said the man thought he was going to meet up with a 14-year-old child on Jan. 9 when he was arrested.

Read more: Predator catchers confront man who went to Novi hotel to meet 14-year-old girl, police say

Wayne Kenneth Johnson Jr., 52, of White Lake, was taken into custody outside the hotel at 3 a.m. Sunday.

Johnson is charged with accosting children for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit a crime. He is scheduled to return to 52-1 District Court in Novi at 9 a.m. Jan. 19.

He was charged for child sexually abusive material in 2015 and released from the Michigan Department of Corrections in November 2020, records show.


About the Authors:

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.