Plot Synopsis

UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE is a six-part true-crime docuseries that follows child advocate Roo Powell and the team at her nonprofit organization SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse), as they track down some of the internet's most dangerous child predators. The team transform Roo, a 38-year-old mother of three, into a teen persona and work to reveal the true identities of the men who reach out to her. It's a race against time to identify the suspects before they discover Roo herself is not who she claims to be. The series also follows strategic social media lead, Shelby Chikazawa; photographer and visuals lead, Matt Monath; writer and story developer, Avalon Esposito; research lead Kelly Becker; and law enforcement officer, Sergeant Mark Suda, as they create and operate three separate personas of fictitious, underage girls, each living unrelated lives in different cities across the country. Once adults engage with Roo's underage decoys -- which sometimes takes only minutes -- the team communicates with them via texts, calls, and even distressing video chats to gather pieces of information about their real identities. Every adult that contacts the teenage decoys is explicitly told from the outset that they are speaking to an underage girl, and are given the opportunity to cease communication at any point. It's a good scenario when someone disengages immediately after discovering they're interacting with a teen, but all too often, the situation escalates almost immediately when the person responds with a graphic photo or request. For those who choose to proceed with explicit exchanges with a supposed minor, the team mobilizes to put a name to the offender. Many are operating under their own fake identity, which makes finding a true identification tricky and complicated. Once the team at SOSA has enough information for a positive identification, they turn over their findings to law enforcement. With suspected predators ranging from school employees to high-profile community figures, it's a race against the clock to get these individuals on law enforcement's radar to keep them from continuing their crimes. The first two episodes of UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE dropped on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 on discovery+, with a new episode debuting each Tuesday through November 30. UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE made its linear television debut on Thursday, February 24, 2022 from 9-11pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery with back-to-back episodes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sophomore season of UNDERCOVER UNDERAGE premiered on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 9pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery. Roo Powell and her team at the nonprofit SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse) continue to work in tandem with law enforcement to apprehend child predators by becoming the targets. Season 1 resulted in four convictions of sexual predators, and, for Season 2, the SOSA team relocates to embed with the sheriff's office in Canadian County, Oklahoma and deploys three new underage decoys. As the team launches the fictitious online accounts for a 15, 14 and even a 12-year-old persona, it's a race against the clock to identify the ACMs (adults contacting minors) and build a case against the alleged predators to enable law enforcement to make an arrest before the perpetrators can victimize other children. With 16 arrests featured this season, the pressure is palpable over the course of eight explosive and intense all-new episodes. Returning this season alongside Roo are social media lead Shelby Chikazawa and photographer and visuals lead Matt Monath. New to this season is SOSA's director of communications, Jordan Perez, as well as various team members in support roles for research and evidence. The entire team works directly in conjunction with Canadian County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) led by Major Adam Flowers, who oversees its ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force, and Sheriff Chris West. Multiple adult decoys are deployed this season with Roo's guidance including the 12-year-old "Abby," 14-year-old "Mackenzie," and 15-year-old "Skylar." As these young women engage with the ACMs online via their decoy personas, Roo guides them as they process and absorb the impact of the lewd actions and disturbing words intended for actual minors. Once the ACMs engage with the underage decoys, the team communicates with the ACMs via texts, calls and even distressing video chats to gather pieces of information about their real identities. Every adult that contacts the teenage decoys is distinctly told from the outset that they are speaking to an underage girl and is given the opportunity to cease communication at any point. For those who choose to proceed with explicit exchanges with a supposed minor, the team mobilizes quickly to put a name to the offender. Then, once the team at SOSA has enough information for a positive identification, they turn over their findings to law enforcement to make the arrest and get an alleged predator off the streets.

In the season opener, "Reasons to Be Terrified," Roo Powell leads her team in launching two new decoys in Oklahoma City. Within minutes they are met with an influx of messages from adults contacting minors, or ACMS. "The Handyman" quickly tries to lure 12-year-old decoy Abby into an aggressively sexual relationship. While the team pieces clues together to discover his identity, 14-year-old decoy Mackenzie is approached by "The Soldier," an active United States military member. But as one investigation closes -- the team makes a potentially devastating mistake.