YouTube tip led to Coast father, son arrested on child porn, soliciting sex from a child charges

Gulfport police were searching the house of a man suspected of trying to meet a child for sex when they found child pornography belonging to his 62-year-old father. Both men are now in jail.

The son, Justin Cripps, 33, was arrested Jan. 12; his father, Ricky Lynn Cripps, was arrested on one count of possession of child pornography two weeks later, on Thursday.

Police were acting on a tip after a YouTuber posing as a 9-year-old child began exchanging messages with Justin Cripps for a channel devoted to exposing child predators, Sergeant Jason DuCré confirmed. A video of a confrontation between the YouTuber and Cripps’ family has racked up some 127,000 views.

Ricky Cripps is being held at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center — the same jail as his son — on a $150,000 bond, according to a press release from the Gulfport police.

His son’s bond was set at $750,000. In addition to charges related to soliciting sex from a child, Justin Cripps was also charged with sending explicit messages to a child and for resisting arrest.

This story was originally published January 28, 2022 at 11:33 AM.