Hunter Ordered to Post TikTok Apology After Pleading Guilty to 17 Wildlife Crimes
A 21-year-old Ohio hunter who spent months bragging about his exploits on TikTok has been ordered to post an apology on the same platform after a sprawling poaching investigation turned up 115 pounds of illegally harvested turkey meat, dozens of turkey fans and a haul of hunting gear tied to violations in at least 17 states.
Carter J. Hickey of New Philadelphia, Ohio, pleaded guilty on May 20, 2026, in New Philadelphia Municipal Court to 17 wildlife crimes after investigators say his own social media posts helped unravel a pattern of illegal hunting that stretched far beyond his home state.
A Bragging Habit That Backfired
The case began in May 2025, when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement started receiving complaints about Hickey's activity. According to the agency, the violations amounted to far more than isolated slip-ups. "These weren't small mistakes," wildlife officials said. "They were a deliberate pattern of violations."
Investigators say Hickey had been posting footage and claims about his hunting exploits on TikTok throughout the period covered by the case, the same platform where he's now required to post his apology. Officials say those posts, along with tips from the public, helped build the multi-state case against him.
The Scope of the Investigation
The charges Hickey pleaded guilty to included taking wildlife during closed seasons, illegal possession of animals, hunting without landowner permission, spotlighting, using a motor vehicle to kill wildlife and failing to follow required game-check rules. Investigators also say he helped others poach turkeys without valid licenses and take turkeys over the legal limit.
As part of the case, Hickey surrendered three firearms, a bow, hunting blinds and decoys along with the seized turkey meat and turkey fans. The 115 pounds of turkey meat and 47 whole or partial turkey fans represented birds taken outside legal seasons or limits, evidence that investigators say pointed to a pattern rather than a one-time lapse. Separately, he was ordered to write a letter of apology to the city of Dover, Ohio, after admitting to trespassing and unlawfully killing a 10-point buck in a public park there.
Jail Time, a Hunting Ban and a Five-Figure Bill
A judge sentenced Hickey to 15 days in jail, two years of probation and 80 hours of community service, along with a five-year ban on hunting and trapping. He was also ordered to pay $5,500 in fines, more than $12,000 in restitution and $11,000 in additional penalties, plus a $5,000 donation to Ohio's Turn In a Poacher program, bringing the total financial hit to roughly $33,500.
The combination of jail time, a lengthy hunting ban and a public social media apology reflects how seriously Ohio wildlife officials treated the scale of the case, which spanned far more territory than a typical local poaching citation.
An Apology Video Still Pending
As of the most recent reporting on the case, Hickey had not yet posted the court-ordered apology video to TikTok, the same platform investigators say he used to publicize the very hunts that got him in trouble. The requirement effectively forces him to use his own audience, built in part on the boasts that helped expose him, to walk back his public image.
Wildlife officials have pointed to the case as a reminder that poaching investigations increasingly rely on the same social media trail hunters use to show off their catches, turning bragging posts into evidence rather than bragging rights. The Ohio Turn In a Poacher program, which received Hickey's $5,000 court-ordered donation, funds tip rewards for hunters and landowners who report suspected violations, the same kind of public complaints that helped launch the investigation into Hickey in the first place.
For now, Hickey remains barred from hunting or trapping for the next five years under his sentence, on top of the jail time, probation and community service already handed down.
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