Playstation Network VP Terminated After Allegedly Luring a Minor


Over the weekend, a Twitter thread emerged regarding Playstation VP George Cacioppo allegedly attempting to meet a minor after exchanging elicit text messages with someone claiming to be 15 years old. Cacioppo is listed as having been the Senior Vice President of Engineering for the Playstation Network since September 2013, according to LinkedIn.
A vigilante organization known as People v. Preds set up the sting. After a short text exchange, the decoy and the person said to be George Cacioppo planned a meet-up at his place. The entire video is under three minutes. George is confronted in front of what looks like his home. He is wearing a PS5 t-shirt and appears to realize he has been set up immediately.
Cacioppo retreats from the cameras as the PVP team makes it clear to anyone within earshot of what the former Sony VP was allegedly trying to do. At no point in the video were the police called to the scene.

People v. Preds have posted a Google Drive link with screenshots of Cacioppo’s conversation with two different decoys. The texts can also be seen in the Twitter thread below.
https://twitter.com/BanishedJourno/status/1467203514971529218?s=20
https://twitter.com/BanishedJourno/status/1467239191301947392?s=20
CNET is reporting that Cacioppo has been terminated from Sony. This information comes from a statement Sony e-mailed out over the weekend. Unfortunately, the complete contents of this e-mail were not published, only the following blurb, “We are aware of the situation, and the employee in question has been terminated from employment.
Vigilante groups targetting potential predators are not uncommon in the wake of NBC’s To Catch A Predator with Chris Hansen. In addition, in recent years, several YouTube channels have popped up using similar tactics to the infamous Dateline show. While it may be commendable that these people are doing more to shed light on child abusers and human traffickers, some of these channels do so on questionable grounds.
Since law enforcement isn’t directly involved from start to finish, it is hard to authenticate every interaction between the decoy and the potential predator. That’s not to say a number of these altercations aren’t 100% legit, but it also leaves the alleged kiddy diddler with enough legal firepower to escape prosecution. Trust me, and I want anyone attempting to abuse a child to face the harshest possible sentence.
We held off on reporting this story until more info surfaced; however, it would appear that some people were outright refusing to cover it for some reason. For example, an executive editor at IGN felt that the story was not worth dedicating time to.
https://twitter.com/DanStapleton/status/1467663439288020995?s=20
It would be unprofessional to speculate, but having spent several years in the entertainment industry, I can say that there is an apparent tendency for actions of child predators to be downplayed if not completely ignored. There are active movements in academia to normalize the behaviors that would lead to children being taken advantage of. Disgusting.
Maybe they keep quiet so as not to ruffle the feathers of those who control their access to media? Perhaps it is, so they’re not blacklisted from the lifeline needed to stay in business. I cannot say for certainty, but it is a subject that the business likes to ignore.
It’s one of those “open secrets” that the rich like to abuse children. We only have to look at the Jimmy Savile controversy to see that. Just how much of your soul are you willing to give away so you can maintain a steady paycheck? How many times can you turn a blind eye because you don’t want to get on the wrong side of a studio executive?
[Source: @BanishedJourno] [Source: CNET]

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Mike Phalin

Longtime problematic entertainment journalist. The former workhorse for Dread Central, ScienceFiction.com, and Fanbolt.

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