Surprise court decision gives ‘paedophile hunters’ the okay

Unofficial paedophile hunters have scored a big court win in the UK that’s validated their right to pose as children in order to snare perverts.

Lawyers representing two men who were allegedly trapped by a vigilante group called Dark Justice had tried to get the evidence against their clients dismissed, The Guardian reported.

The lawyers argued that the activities of Dark Justice – which involve creating fake online profiles of children, then confronting the people who attempt to lure the ‘child’ into sexual activity – meant that the group was a public body that should be regulated.

But at the Newcastle Crown Court, the judge said that there was no legal requirement for Dark Justice’s activities to be controlled, because the men behind the group were acting as private citizens. Whether they were engaging in entrapment was a different legal issue, the judge said.

The decision was heavily watched because other cases that were built on evidence uncovered by such groups had been put on hold until the judgement came down, and a win for the alleged paedophiles’ lawyers would’ve endangered many other prosecutions.

On its own website, Dark Justice says that it was set up by two men in Newcastle in 2014 and was so far responsible for 79 arrests, 42 convictions and 20 prison sentences.

“We catch online predators who try to groom and meet up with children following sexual grooming,” the men, who don’t disclose their identities, say on their site. In a Facebook post, the group says it’s not funded by the police or government – a fact that police confirmed during the legal case.

“We made history today by winning this judgement [sic] and we hope to do the same again the support we get is amazing and we can’t thank you enough!” the group wrote on Facebook after the judge’s decision. “We will never give up our mission and we will fight for every single child’s right to be safe from abusers.”

The founders of Dark Justice insisted in an interview with The Guardian that they never approached any adult online, waiting instead until the ‘child’ was approached and asked by the adult to meet. They arranged a meeting and informed the police so that officers are on hand to make an arrest. This wasn’t entrapment, they said.

“At the end of the day, these people come to us. These people make first contact. These people make it sexual and these people ask to meet.”

Do you agree with these unofficial groups or is it unacceptable vigilante action?