Greenport man, 37, accused of sending indecent photo, arranging meetup with teen at Topgolf

This story has been updated with new information.

A 37-year-old Greenport man was arrested Monday after allegedly sending an indecent photo to a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl and arranging to meet her at Topgolf in Holtsville, Suffolk County police said.

Corey Hooks, who lives on Fifth Street, allegedly arranged to meet the person May 26 after communicating with her on social media, according to police. Digital Forensic Unit detectives launched a probe after receiving a report about the exchange.

Predator Poachers Long Island, a Long Island-based group that says it works to expose adults seeking sexual contact with minors, said it was involved in the encounter that led to the police investigation.

Mr. Hooks was a ticket collector at the Orient Ferry and also worked at a local King Kullen, according to Predator Poachers Long Island.

The group, an affiliate of the national Predator Poachers organization, said its members use decoys who pose online as minors and then confront adults who allegedly arrange to meet them.

Predator Poachers Long Island said the exchanges lasted about five or six days, beginning on Instagram Threads before moving to text messages.

“Mr. Hooks was talking to who he believed was a 13-year-old female with one of our local decoys that’s local to Suffolk County,” Predator Poachers Long Island investigator Matthew McPhillips told The Suffolk Times. “He contacted her on numerous attempts in trying to meet up with her and then have sexual intercourse with her.”

Mr. Hooks arrived at Topgolf on Tuesday, May 26, around 6 p.m. and met with the decoy in person, according to Predator Poachers Long Island. After about two minutes, the group’s founder, Michael Villani, stepped in and had what Mr. McPhillips described as a “pretty lengthy” conversation with him.

“He admitted to Mr. Villani that he received child sex abuse material or CSAM, basically child pornography, and also talked to other females,” Mr. McPhillips said.

Further investigation found that Mr. Hooks had child sexual abuse material on his phone, police said.

Predator Poachers Long Island said police seized Mr. Hooks’ device after the encounter. Mr. Hooks was not arrested at the scene, the group said.

He was later charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child, attempted endangering the welfare of a child and attempted dissemination of indecent material.

Mr. Hooks was held overnight at the Sixth Precinct in Selden pending arraignment Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip.