Saratoga Co.: Colorado man charged with attempted child rape

Saratoga Co.: Colorado man charged with attempted child rape Mark Mulholland and Sarah Darmanjian WNYT Saratoga Co. Sheriff’s Office says predator came from Colorado The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office says Preston Purdy came from Colorado with plans to rape three children. MALTA, N.Y. (WNYT)- A Colorado man is accused of traveling to Malta to sexually abuse three children after a citizen decoy group confronted him inside a home. Police said Preston Purdy, 42, flew to the Capital Region and went to a home on Manning Road in Malta, where he believed he would meet a single mother’s children, ages 3, 8 and 11. Authorities said he is accused of going there to have sex with the children and assault them. Eric Arthurs, who calls himself “The Under Agent,” questioned Purdy inside the home. Arthurs is part of New York State Predator Alert, a citizens group that uses decoys to target suspected child predators. “I would choke ’em till they passed out. I would hit her in the face,” Purdy can be heard saying in a video posted by New York State Predator Alert on their social media pages. Arthurs had been communicating online with Purdy for three weeks while posing as a single mother of three, according to police. Police said Purdy believed he was coming to the rented home to have sex with the children, but was instead confronted by Arthurs and others from New York State Predator Alert. During a long interview with Arthurs and members of New York State Predator Alert, Purdy made several admissions about what he planned to do to the children, according to the source material. NewsChannel 13 spoke Tuesday with Saratoga County Sheriff Jeff Brown and Saratoga County District Attorney Brett Eby about the case. Purdy is being held in the Saratoga County Jail on charges of attempted rape of a child and aggravated sex abuse. Reaction from officials “This is right up there with one of the worst I’ve ever heard of,” Brown said. “This is one of the most grotesque attempted acts I’ve ever seen,” Eby said. “He was going to violently sexually assault three children,” Brown said. “Unfortunately after 28 years, nothing really shocks me any more but it was disturbing to hear the details of what this individual intended to do to these children.” Purdy is being held in the Saratoga County Jail and has been charged with attempted rape of a child and aggravated sex abuse. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. “He’s a grown adult. He made a lot of decisions. He got on an airplane. He got into an Uber to go meet with these children. I think he should be fully held accountable,” Eby said. *Editors note: In the above video it’s said each charge carries a maximum sentence of 14 years which is incorrect.