Bremerton man cleared of exploitation accusations, police blame identity theft
Jul 20, 2026, 5:46 AM
A photo of a Bremerton Police Department vehicle. (Photo courtesy of the Bremerton Police Department)
(Photo courtesy of the Bremerton Police Department)
The Bremerton Police Department (BPD) announced that a man accused of trying to exploit a minor online is no longer under investigation. Instead, police said the man may be a victim of identity theft.
Investigators said someone impersonated the man and sent the illicit messages originally thought to have been sent by Daryl Daugs, a former deputy auditor with Kitsap County.
The accusations against Daugs originated from an organization called PredatorPoachers, which said the man messaged a bait account where an adult was posing as a child.
In a video posted on their social media in June, the group confronted Daugs at his home and then handed the evidence of his alleged crimes to the Bremerton Police Department.
In the video, two members of the group are seen confronting Daugs and presenting him with screenshots of an online chat that appeared to be between him and someone police now believe was posing as a minor.
“You are making stuff up, buddy,” Daugs said in the video. “You are making stuff up.”
In the video, Daugs denied knowing anything about the chats.
“Your face is right here,” Alex Rosen of PredatorPoachers said in the video. “It’s obviously you, man.”
“It’s a picture of me, my face,” Daugs responded. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
The video showed police arriving at Doug’s house and the PredatorPoacher team handing over an envelope containing the chat logs and screenshots of social media accounts.
In the days after the confrontation, Daugs’ employer told KIRO 7 he was on leave while police investigated.
In a statement released Friday, Bremerton police said Daugs fully cooperated with the investigation and was a victim of identity theft. The messages reportedly came from an out-of-state IP address.
The department said in the statement that a suspect has been identified.
Rosen, the founder of PredatorPoachers, told KIRO 7 he has now taken the video about Daugs offline.
“At the moment, I am not going to keep anything up about it because I want them to finish their investigation,” he said. “I am not convinced either way at this point. I do find some of the circumstances extremely sus.”
BPD said the FBI is involved in the case, and the person who allegedly posed as Daugs will be charged.
“I don’t know, I hope they find the right guy, whether it’s Daryl or not,” Rosen said. “Of course I am willing to be proven wrong.”
The Kitsap County auditor told KIRO 7 Friday that Daugs had retired from his position.
KIRO 7 made numerous attempts to reach Daugs for comment but has not heard back.
