The Laws Surrounding Paedophile Hunters
The world of social media is responsible for so many things, where people feel empowered to take the law into their own hands. There have been many forums where vigilantes can target people who have not been convicted of a legal offence but may be widely known on the “rumour mill,” such as someone who is assumed to be a paedophile.
While the adage “there is no smoke without fire” is a very common assumption, when it comes to trial by media or social media, someone can instantly be cast as a guilty party without having a fair trial. In these instances, it is considered to be a noble act for a predator hunter to intercept paedophiles and bring them to justice. But what are the laws behind paedophile hunters?
How Paedophile Hunters Work
A paedophile hunter is someone operating online posing as children to lure paedophiles or predators into chat rooms, eventually arranging to meet the alleged paedophile in person and film them while accusing them of grooming children.
Paedophile hunters typically publicise their allegations on social media and report them to the police, encouraging them to begin an investigation. Although this approach can uncover people using the internet to groom children and bring them to justice, there have been many innocent victims who have experienced extremely negative outcomes as a result, such as losing relationships, jobs, families, and even committing suicide in the case of Nigel Sherratt, who was ruled to have died as a result of suicide subject to his learning difficulties.
What Is the Law on Paedophile Hunting?
Paedophile hunting is not classed as a crime; however, it’s important to note that some of the associated activities, such as blackmail, extortion, and violence, are classed as illegal. If a paedophile hunter has a specific agenda to bring someone to justice without adequate evidence, there could be a tendency to give inaccurate and misleading testimony in court. Additionally, if vigilantes share indecent images of a child as part of their activities, they can be charged with the offence of distributing indecent images of a child.
What Should Paedophile Hunters Do?
It is important to never impede police investigation, and vigilante groups should send evidence directly to the police rather than sharing it online. If there are reasonable grounds to believe a serious offence is being committed, or if it is not possible for a police officer to conduct the arrest, a citizen is entitled to use reasonable force to carry out a citizen’s arrest, as per Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
What Happens If You Are the Target of a Paedophile Hunt?
The important thing to consider is to instruct the right legal support. If you are targeted by paedophile hunters, you will want to notify the police to mitigate the risk of any additional anguish and danger.
If you are perceived as being in danger, the police are obliged to assist you, and any film footage or evidence gathered by the paedophile hunters should be passed to the police. If you are invited for a police interview or arrested, obtaining legal representation is essential to ensure that you can defend yourself robustly.
