Canadian vigilantes label innocent man as paedophile
A Canadian vigilante group has apologised after they shared an image of an innocent man who they labeled as a pedophile.
Surrey resident Darrell Berekoff was shocked to learn that a photo from his Facebook had been taken and shared on the ‘Creep Catcher’s website.
"I was like, 'oh my God, this is the worst thing that could ever happen’," Mr Berekoff said.
"Your life just changes instantly."
Ryan Laforge, the head of Surrey’s Creep Catchers chapter, was the man responsible for the blunder, admitting that he posted the photo of Mr Berekoff in an effort to find out if he was the man trying to meet two 14-year-old girls.
"So what I did was I put his picture up in a comment on that video asking anyone if they knew if this was him or not," he told CTV.
Mr Berekoff learned of his new reputation after his cousin was informed that he was a pedophile and told to keep her children away from him.
"They never posted an apology on their website, they never claimed that it wasn't me, so people were still thinking it was me [and] making those phone calls," Mr Berekoff said.
As well as his family, Mr Berekoff’s employer was also warned, however, the matter was corrected before any action was taken.
“I was (told that I was) employing a pedophile and that if I kept him employed that I would probably be hurt,”
It is not the first time that the group has come under fire either. A 23-year-old man is pursuing legal options after he was confronted at a Calgary mall.
The unidentified man said he arranged to meet a woman by the name of Amanda whose online dating profile stated she was 18.
"Just before our meet-up, she mentioned that she was 14 and then she corrected herself and said, 'No, I'm actually 13'," he told CBC.
"Then she corrected herself and said, 'I'm 15'."
Under the impression the comments were a joke, the unidentified man proceeded to the designated meeting location where he was confronted by a local ‘creep catcher’ Dawson Raymond.
“You here to meet a 13-year-old girl?" Mr Raymond asked.
“I’ve got over two million views on my Facebook.
"Everyone's going to know who the f*** you are, you pedophile f***."
Calgary Police said they would not cooperate with the group in anyway and discouraged citizens from “conducting their own investigations.”
