'The Pedophile Hunter' who snares internet predators by posing as children
Chilling messages sent from pedophiles to people they believe to be underage girls have been revealed to the public.
The disturbing texts from men aged between 30 and 60 contain explicit sexual advances towards "children" they have met in online chatrooms.
The sickening predators were unaware that they were in fact talking to a team of undercover investigators, who are attempting to catch internet predators.
Stinson Hunter has raised approaching $30,000 since a Kickstarter campaign was launched last week, following an appearance in a UK television documentary entitled "The Pedophile Hunter".
Hunter and his colleagues are using fake profiles in an attempt to lure potential child abusers into real-life meetings.
During these meetings, they confront and film the men regarding their actions.
This evidence is then handed over to the police.
However, authorities interviewed for the Channel 4 documentary have pointed out ethical concerns have been raised over such vigilantism.
During the program, lawyer Hugh Davies QC says that he "cannot approve" of the way in which the men are publicly shamed.
In one case, a man committed suicide after being caught and confronted by Mr Hunter.
But Mr Davies clarified that Hunter was not doing anything that was illegal and had actually managed to catch more pedophiles than many police forces have.
The documentary claims that Mr Hunter and his associates' investigations had led to more than 10 arrests.
Following incredible levels of support from members of the public online - including almost half a million Facebook likes - Hunter aims to expand his work to "the wider world" using the funds raised through Kickstarter.
"Our ultimate goal is to distribute our work for free, using advertising and online monetisation as a main source of income", said Mr Hunter.
"There will be no subscription charges or pay-per-view, we truly believe that the subjects we are going to be working on need to be seen by everyone at no cost because it's your right to know."
31-year-old Hunter has explained how his work has brought gained him immense satisfaction after years of battling drug and alcohol addictions after he was being taken into care at the age of 13.
The program is Channel 4's "most important film of the year", said Nick Mirsky, the broadcaster's Head of Documentaries.
If you or someone you know has been affected by child abuse, or you are concerned over a the welfare of a child, call Kids Helpline for free on 1800 55 1800 or visit http://www.kidshelp.com.au.
News break - October 07
