NYPD 114 Precinct New Ford Police Interceptor Utility. Jason Lawrence. CC BY 2.0

NEW YORK — Caught on camera: the moment 45-year-old Glen Payabyab was arrested after allegedly attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl — only to walk free the next day, sparking renewed calls for bail reform in New York. 

The sting operation took place on the evening of April 3, when Payabyab showed up at a Cold Stone Creamery parking lot in Staten Island expecting to meet the child.

Instead, he was met by members of the nonprofit Protect Our Children and officers from the NYPD’s 121st Precinct. 

“You were texting a 12-year-old girl. You showed up to meet her — and now you’re going to jail,” said Protect Our Children founder Pete DiMiceli, confronting Payabyab in a video now circulating online.

Seconds later, NYPD officers moved in, handcuffed the suspect, and placed him under arrest.

FOUR-DAY UNDERCOVER OPERATION

The confrontation was the culmination of a four-day operation following an encounter between Payabyab and two 12-year-old girls selling stuffed animals at a yard sale.

Ring camera footage reportedly captured the man circling the block multiple times before approaching the girls.

He claimed his children went to a nearby school and asked if the girls did too. He later returned, took a selfie with them, and asked for one of their phone numbers — which he verified on the spot by calling. 

The girl’s mother discovered the disturbing exchange later that evening. From Monday through Thursday, court documents allege, Payabyab sent over 20 text messages to the child — many of them explicit.

According to court filings, his messages included:

“Let’s watch Thursday night. Can you send photos of you? Any kind of photos. Whole body. We can just meet first in what house? So I can pick you up. Can you show yours? Ok with your pics also LOL and your friend LOL let me see.” 

Authorities also allege that Payabyab sent the child a link to adult video site Pornhub.

After seeing the messages on her daughter’s phone around noon that Tuesday, the girl’s mother contacted Protect Our Children. Using a synced tablet, the mother was able to monitor the text exchanges in real time, with guidance from Pete DiMiceli’s team and detectives from the 121st Precinct.

“We devised a plan to have him meet up with, you know, quote-unquote, the 12-year-old girl,” DiMiceli explained to ABS-CBN News. “She was never going to ever be in danger, nor would we put her or the 121st Precinct in any danger.”

The group coordinated with police to stage a decoy meetup at Cold Stone. At around 8:45 p.m. on April 3, Payabyab drove by the shop, looked inside, and backed into a parking space.

That’s when DiMiceli pulled up alongside him and officers made the arrest.

When confronted with the text messages, authorities say Payabyab, who claims he worked for the Church of Christ, admitted to sending them and acknowledged the girl’s age.

“Yes, I sent those texts,” he allegedly told investigators. “Yes, I know how old she is.”

Despite the disturbing evidence, Payabyab was released without bail the next day — a result of New York’s bail reform laws.

He currently faces one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor. A court date is set for June 3, 2025.

CAMPAIGN FOR MANDATORY BAIL FOR CHILD EXPLOITATION SUSPECTS

“Due to bail reform, these guys are out in less than 24 hours,” said DiMiceli. “And this isn’t the first or the last case that we see in the five boroughs.”

The release has fueled Protect Our Children’s campaign for a new bill requiring suspects arrested on charges related to child sexual exploitation to pay bail for their release.

The group launched a petition two months ago and has since secured the support of a New York State senator to formally draft the bill.

“All we need is, I think, 35 sponsors of this bill,” DiMiceli said. “It’s a non-partisan bill… If any one of those people… isn’t on board with this, well guess what? You’re gonna get a good old-fashioned hello from Protect Our Children.”

In the meantime, DiMiceli hopes law enforcement will secure a warrant to search Payabyab’s devices — which, if found to contain out-of-state content, could escalate the case to the federal level and carry more serious penalties.

“If they happen to find something, that picture came from out of state — then that state charge turns to a federal charge,” he said. “That has a minimax sentence attached.”

For DiMiceli, this work is deeply personal — rooted in his own experience as an unprotected child. His nonprofit is calling for more public awareness, reporting of suspicious behavior, and legislative change.

Protect Our Children can be reached through their website POCNY.org or via their social media platforms.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do,” DiMiceli said. “To get these perps off the street — and to protect our kids.”