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George Cacioppo, a senior vice-president at Sony Interactive Entertainment, was recently fired from the network after being caught for predatory behavior against a minor in a sting operation video.
The sting conducted by the People vs. Preds group was livestreamed on their YouTube channel on December 3, 2021. The video went viral immediately upon release, and several people slammed the senior executive for his behavior.
As per the footage, George Cacioppo attempted to establish a questionable relationship with a 15-year-old and invited the latter to his home after interacting with him through an online dating app. Following the controversy, Sony confirmed George’s termination in a statement to CNET:
“We are aware of the situation and the employee in question has been terminated from employment.”
So far, the senior employee has not addressed his behavior in public and has continued to maintain his silence over the situation.
Everything to know about George Cacioppo
George Cacioppo was a senior executive or vice president at Sony’s PlayStation network. He also served as the senior vice president of engineering at the network. The 64-year-old reportedly lives in San Diego.
He began his journey as a senior vice president of the PlayStation Network in 2013. Prior to joining Sony, he served as the vice president of Intuit software engineering in San Diego. He started his career in 1978 as a software engineer for Hazeltine Industrial products in New York.
He worked at Digital Equipment Corporation in 1982 and served as vice president of companies like Adobe and PalmSource Holdings. He has previously worked with TurboTax and PostScript based on his LinkedIn profile.
However, the executive was recently fired from Sony after being exposed to being a sting video predator.
The former Sony vice-president started exchanging inappropriate messages under the alias "Jeff" with a decoy impersonating a 15-year-old male. The conversations reportedly began on a popular dating app in October 2021.
Earlier this month, he allegedly invited the disguised minor to his home in Carmel Valley. The duo agreed to meet in person outside George’s residence around 4.30 AM on the morning of December 3. As the People vs. Preds crew reached the venue, the executive was spotted waiting outside his home wearing a black PS5 t-shirt.
After being confronted by the cameraman, George Cacioppo was seen walking inside his home and slamming his door shut despite threats of legal intervention. The group also revealed screenshots of their conversations with the executive and reportedly shared chat logs with authorities in private.
The San Diego Police Department was also alerted about the situation. According to The New York Post, SDPD spokesman Adam Sharki mentioned that an active investigation led by the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) against George is currently underway. However, no criminal charges have been placed against the former Sony employee so far.
