Ethan, a 20-year-old college student, decided he was going to go fishing for sex offenders on Tinder after hearing about his friend's story of being molested as a child.
Little did he know that he'd catch a local police officer.
Ethan, who lives up in the San Francisco area, started by using Snapchat's gender-switch filter to make a picture of himself as a "female."
He then used the picture to create a Tinder account, posing as 19-year-old "Esther."
40-year-old San Mateo Police Officer Robert Davies ended up contacting Esther and messaging her.
"Are you down to have some fun tonight"
The conversation ultimately moved to Kik, where Esther explained that she was actually 16 years old.
Davies acknowledged her actual age and then the conversation moved to Snapchat where Ethan tells NBC News that their messages became much more explicit, including talks about engaging in sexual activity.
Ethan reported Davies to law enforcement, after which San Mateo police served search warrants on Davies' electronic devices, mobile apps, and home.
He was ultimately arrested on June 6 on suspicion of contacting a minor to commit a felony.
(Robert Davies - Courtesy of San Jose Police Department)