MAP Forum

WILKES-BARRE — What is likely the first legitimate legal test in Pennsylvania of a vigilante child predator’s efforts is in the hands of a Luzerne County jury.

Closing arguments were held Wednesday afternoon in the child solicitation case against Zachary John Mitchell, 51, who was charged by Kingston police with information supplied by the self-proclaimed Luzerne County Predator Catcher Musa Harris.

Mitchell, of Kunkletown in Monroe County, was charged in October 2021, after Harris, who posed as a 15-year-old boy on a dating website, turned over chat logs and a video of his encounter with Mitchell.

Court records alleged Mitchell began an online conversation on July 5, 2021, that quickly turned sexual with plans to meet for sexual encounters. As Mitchell drove from his Monroe County residence to Kingston, he was informed via text message that he was communicating and meeting with a 15-year-old boy.

Deputy District Attorney Daniel Zola argued Mitchell could have turned around when he found out he was conversing and meeting a 15-year-old boy but continued to drive to Kingston.

“(Mitchell) knew the person on the other end was 15 years old, he planned to have sex,” Zola said during his closing statement.