Nathan Hartwell tells News 12, "I was on craigslist. I'm a single man, haven't been involved with anyone for years."
So, on January 8th, Hartwell decided to answer an add from a female seeking fun guys for good times.
Hartwell adds, "They tried to make claims of being someone underage, but it didn't make sense to me with everything else said."
After about five hours of chatting to "Daddy K," Hartwell drove from his Red Bank home to a Ringgold gas station.
Hartwell says, "Stupidly, yes, I agree, I left my home to find out who I was dealing with."
Well, who he was dealing with was none other than a group of officers from Catoosa County, and an FBI agent.
Hartwell says, "The supposed FBI agent, he claims to be FBI, held my head against the back of the building and threatened to break my jaw if I tried to say anything that he didn't like to hear."
Now, we recently discovered that FBI agent, Ken Hillman, is being investigated by the very agency he works for.
In October, authorities believe he convinced Ringgold Police Sergeant, Tom Evans, to cross state lines while on duty to give him a ride after a night of drinking.
Coincidentally, Evans is also involved in Hartwell's case.
Now, some people question if they made unethical decisions in their personal lives, have they made them in their professional lives?
Hartwell says, "They got evidence without a search warrant. How did they do that."
As a result of mounting complaints against Hillman, the Crimes Against Children Task Force, that he led, was suspended.
Evans was also fired.
However, even with that being said, Catoosa County District Attorney, Buzz Franklin, says the complaints will not affect the cases the men are involved in, like Hartwells.
Franklin adds, "None of this would be admissibile in any court proceedings."
Franklin says you do not have to meet and have sex with an underage teen in order to be charged with sexual exploitation of a child.
According to Franklin, "The crime is complete complete when they make the communication in an attempt to do that."
As Hartwell waits to be indicted and plead his case; the community wonders if the "good guys" here upheld their oath.
Ken Hillman and Tom Evans, both from Ringgold, could not be reached for comment.
A court date for Hartwell has not yet been decided.
