By David F. Rooney
The Creep Catchers vigilante group recently confronted a Revelstoke man it claims was seeking to hook up with a 14-year-old girl for sex.
The disturbing video, which is publicly accessible, shows three members of the self-proclaimed child protectors confronting the man in front of the Carlton Cards shop in Kamloops’ Aberdeen Mall.
The video includes a complete log of the texts, including photos, between the 47-year-old man and what he thought was a 14-year-old girl. The man in question could not be contacted for comment.
After introducing himself, an unidentified member of Creep Catchers Kamloops invites the man to go outside where they could speak a little more discretely.
“What? Am I being arrested?” the man asks.
“No,” the Creep Catcher replies. “I want to know why you came here to meet a 14 year old girl?”
“I have no idea,” the man says.
“Come on. I have the chat logs right on my phone. You came here to meet a 14 year-old-girl named Steph. She told you she was a virgin and you said you were fine with taking it, and that it would hurt at first but said you’d be gentle. You told her you loved her and asked if she liked kissing.”
The man is obviously jarred by the confrontation and although he does not deny the allegations after a few minutes he says he does not know why he did what he did.
“I’d like to go home,” he says and starts walking towards his car.
“What would happen if it was your kid, man?”
“I’d be upset.”
“Well, no shit! You could have wrecked this kid’s life!”
As the man gets behind the wheel of his vehicle, one of the Creep Catchers shouts: “Yer done, bud! Stay off the fuckin’ Internet!”
Creep Catchers has struck again.
Creep Catchers is a network of vigilante groups operating in 19 cities and towns in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They troll chat rooms and Internet dating services posing as young girls. When they get a bite, they arrange for the man to send them texts and photos of themselves, including explicit photos. After shining on their victims, they arrange to meet them in a public place where they show up and video their confrontations. Videos are published on the Vidme online video service, on the Creep Catchers Canada website http://www.creepcatchers.ca and on chapters’ Facebook pages. The Kamloops Chapter has a Facebook page here. The Creep Catchers Canada website also has a ‘legal’ page which asserts that:
“All persons portrayed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We make no assertions to guilt and provide our viewers with content within the limits of Section 309 of the Criminal Code of Canada:
“No person shall be deemed to publish a defamatory libel by reason only that he publishes defamatory matter that, on reasonable grounds, he believes is true, and that is relevant to any subject of public interest, the public discussion of which is for the public benefit.”
“We do not condone or endorse any harm coming to these individuals, minus public shaming and outing. Any such violence towards anyone portrayed in our content will be frowned upon and does not benefit our cause!
“Share the videos, share the posts, mock, name call, point them out in public (make sure 100% it’s them though please!) To help us continue doing what we do, we urge you to not assault them or their property. WE SHARE YOUR DISGUST but violence won’t help! It’ll just let the haters have something to pick apart at!”
That vigilantes seek to expose the pedophiles that cruise through dark under currents of our society is not that surprising.
However, their actions have provoked criticism from police and others.
End of Part One
