Local non-profit group KTS Predator Hunters, LLC has had their lawsuit dismissed in Randolph County.
In a letter dated for Thursday, December 3rd, Kyle Swanson who is the leader of the group received a letter from Attorney Benjamin Grohmann of Cooper & Liefer Law Offices of Red Bud, Illinois who represent Adrian Collins that a voluntary motion to dismiss the lawsuit is set to be filed in Randolph County Court on Monday, December 7th.
Collins, also of Red Bud, a former security guard who was confronted by KTS Predator Hunters for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to an underage decoy of KTS’s in June, filed the suit on September 4th. Collins alleged the group maliciously and intentionally caused the publication of false statements about him to harm his reputation, and sought in excess of $50,000 for compensatory damages and in excess of $50,000 for punitive damages.
Swanson originally represented himself in court during initial hearings but South Jacksonville Attorney Tyson Manker took part in further legal counsel to the group pro bono. Manker released a letter today announcing that the lawsuit was being dismissed.
In the letter from Manker, KTS Predator Hunters said it would be resuming normal operations of taped confrontations of would-be child predators. Manker says that he commends Swanson and the group persisting despite repeated alleged threats to Swanson, his family, and the non-profit group over social media and elsewhere. Manker also thanked Randolph County authorities for their cooperation and understanding during the litigation of the case.
Swanson followed up the announcement with posting on the groups Facebook Page of the documents filed in Randolph County Court. Swanson says the Collins Family is telling people that they have not dismissed the case and will be pursuing further action.
On November 6th, Swanson formally announced his intentions to run for Madison County Sheriff in 2022. The group also announced two more arrests of alleged child predators in Missouri after recent video confrontations the group had performed.