Man dubbed 'the paedophile hunter' reveals why he poses as a teen online
The South Australian man dubbed “the paedophile hunter” has revealed the true motive for his vigilante-style behaviour.
Rich Warner says he set out to help police by making citizen’s arrests of men who agreed to meet him after he posed online as a teenage boy.
But the hunter became the hunted when he was charged with assault and using the internet to cause offence by identifying a sex offender when he uploaded videos.
He has told a court his interest in justice was sparked after he was sexually abused as a 12-year-old boy.
The assault charge has been dropped, but Warner still faces a maximum of three years in jail.
His lawyer Michael Woods told the court that would be “an absolute travesty of justice.”
Woods told the court Warner wasn’t being a “vigilante” and was only trying to gather evidence against suspects for police, all of which he handed over to officers.
“I’ll leave my final media statement [until] everything’s final and concluded and wait to see what’s said next week,” Warner said outside court.
“I’m looking forward to it being over.”
He will be sentenced next week.
