LONG BEACH, Calif. — WFMY News 2 has obtained video of what police confirmed is the arrest of former Human Resources Director at the North Carolina Department of Revenue, Harlan Frye.
Frye faces a felony charge after police in Los Angeles arrested him for allegedly arranging a meeting online with a minor for sex.
Frye, who is from Greensboro, has been a state employee for decades. He used to be the Director of Basketball Operations at North Carolina A&T State University.
In the video, which shows Frye's arrest, Frye can be heard saying he was on a conference trip in California. The video was posted on YouTube and TikTok by a cyber vigilante who goes by BlackBiden83. It lasts about 25 minutes.
"Why are you doing this, brother?" The vigilante asks.
"I'm not, like I said, I've never done it with anybody this young," Frye responds.
The Long Beach Police Department arrested 62-year-old Harlan Frye on June 9 on charges of arranging to meet up with a 15-year-old boy he met on an app.
In a statement, LBPD said the investigation shows Frye planned to meet with a minor for sex. That minor, however, was a cyber vigilante who posed as the teen online.
WFMY News 2 spoke with the vigilante. He said Frye reached out to one of his decoy accounts, and messages had been exchanged for about an hour when they decided to meet up at a hotel.
The vigilante said he told Frye he was 15 years old.
"Once I revealed to him that I was a 15-year-old boy, he stated, 'Oh, well, if you are OK with it, then I am. We just have to keep it between us,' and then I said yes, of course, that's fine. What all do you still want to do? I understand if you don't want to mess around anymore, and he said, 'No, I'm fine with it,'" the vigilante recounted to WFMY News 2.
The vigilante said when Frye showed up to meet the teen, he approached him and questioned him about his intentions.
In the video, Frye told the vigilante he mentored kids and even used to coach basketball.
"I try to help kids," Frye is heard saying in the video.
"So that's what you were going to do with this kid?" The vigilante is heard saying in the video.
"I don't know. I'm just being honest with you," Frye responds.
"Let's say if y'all clicked and he was real," the vigilante says.
"Then I probably wouldn't done something, yes," Frye responds in the video.
The vigilante told WFMY News 2 he wonders if Frye has had these interactions with children in the past.
"Once he started telling me a little bit more about how he mentors kids, I automatically started thinking this guy probably has real victims that probably haven't come forward yet," he said.
This is a felony charge against Harlan Frye. He has been released on bond. There's no word if he's back in North Carolina.
The Public Affairs Director told WFMY News 2 Frye is no longer employed with the state as of June 10.
NC A&T said Frye left as Director of Basketball Operations in 2014.