Self-styled 'pedophile hunter' captures alleged predator in online trap
A self-confessed 'pedophile hunter' has taken the law into his own hands, capturing an alleged child predator he had deliberately lured online.
The father of one says he set out to show how vulnerable children are to online predators, although there is no proof the man has done anything wrong.
The alleged predator was ambushed at a suburban railway station in Adelaide after allegedly engaging in online chat with a man named Andrew.
He films himself telling the man he has duped into a meeting: "This is a citizen's arrest."
He refuses to let the man out of his sight until police arrive and take him away for questioning.
"I'll stand three feet away from you, but you're not going anywhere," he can be heard saying.
It began with an amateur sting on a gay chat line, with the older man soon asking Andrew for a picture, before sending one of himself.
In the online chat, Andrew tells the man he is 17, "young and inexperienced".
The man replies, "I have a thing for teens (legal of course)."
They agree to meet and the trap is set.
"I made it very clear I was underage," Andrew told 7News.
"It's too easy - a five-year-old could do it."
He denies being a vigilante, saying it proves just how easy it is for online predators to trap underage children.
"Within two hours of being online I'd spoken to five or six pedophiles," he said.
Police say no arrests have been made at this stage, but are urging people not to take the law into their own hands, as it could expose them to personal risk and even criminal charges.
But Andrew is unrepentant.
"If I can find six people and meet them and bust them with enough evidence for police to charge them, it needs to be done again and again," he said.
