Colorado Man Arrested in Malta Decoy House Predator Sting

The wind off the Adirondacks cuts sharp and cold against the glass of a decoy house in Malta, New York. Inside, the air is still, holding the scent of synthetic lubricants and the quiet hum of a hidden camera. It’s a scene that feels ripped from a thriller, but for Preston Purdy, it was the culmination of a month-long online conversation that started in his home state.

Purdy, a 42-year-old from Colorado, flew to Saratoga County with the specific intent of engaging in sexual acts with children he believed were under his care. He wasn’t meeting a friend or a relative; he was meeting Eric Arthurs, a private investigator who goes by the moniker “The Underagent.” For over two decades, Arthurs has run sting operations to catch predators, and he told NEWS10’s Tyanna Xavier that Purdy is one of the worst offenders he has encountered in his career.

The operation began when Arthurs posed as a single mother offering her children to men for adult purposes. Purdy reached out, revealing he lived in Colorado but was willing to fly east to meet the family. During their correspondence, Purdy’s intentions became increasingly disturbing. In a message cited by Arthurs, the Colorado man stated he wanted to brutally assault an 11-year-old boy by disabling his genitals. He also expressed a desire to get an 8-year-old girl pregnant, take her back to Colorado for the birth, and groom the newborn. For a 3-year-old autistic girl, Arthurs said Purdy wanted to rape and physically assault her in an extremely brutal manner.

When Purdy arrived at the decoy house, he laid out his sex toys and products, ready to begin. Arthurs, accompanied by associates, brought the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office into the operation. Sheriff Jeffrey Brown, who has 28 years in law enforcement, noted that while private stings are common nationwide, they carry inherent risks because you never know what people are capable of. “This case…the things that were described that he was going to do to these small children ranks up there with some of the worst I’ve ever heard,” Brown said.

Brown emphasized that while the department doesn’t actively encourage or discourage private stings, they will arrest individuals who commit heinous acts within their community. Purdy was charged with four counts of attempted rape in the first degree and attempted aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree. He was arraigned and remanded to the Saratoga County Jail, where he remains as the investigation continues.

The distance between a living room in Colorado and a holding cell in New York is vast, yet the digital thread connecting them was thin. Arthurs provided video evidence of Purdy confessing to his intent, a recording that captures the gravity of the moment. The sting highlights how modern communication allows predators to bridge geographic gaps, pulling victims and suspects into a shared space where the only barrier is the wall of the decoy house.

As the investigation moves forward, the focus remains on the specific acts Purdy planned and executed. The case underscores a reality for families across the region: the threat of predation is no longer bound by local geography. It travels on a plane, carried in the carry-on of a man who believed he could bring his desires back home. The scent of that decoy house, a mix of anticipation and dread, lingers in the footage Arthurs shared with the world.