A band of parents have formed a vigilante group to snare suspected paedophiles.
Their tactics have led to six arrests – but police forces have reacted with anger, warning that they could be compromising existing investigations.
The parents have set up dozens of profiles on dating and social networking websites, pretending to be girls aged 12 to 15.
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Confrontation: Members of Letzgo Hunting filming an encounter with an alleged would-be paedophile
Making a break: The suspect appears to start running once the group leader confronts him
Using these, the group, who call themselves Letzgo Hunting, exchange messages with suspected paedophiles, sometimes for weeks, before luring them into meetings in parks or other public areas.
The parents, some of whom are trained in the martial arts of jujitsu and karate, film the resulting confrontations, in which they demand an explanation from the men and warn them to expect to be arrested.
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They then upload the footage on to their website and Facebook page. Their most recent video, created on Sunday, shows a suspect flee as a vigilante gives chase in a park on the outskirts of Leicester.
Group confront man they allege is a suspected paedophile
Chase: When the man ran away, a vigilante ran after at him berating him for his alleged crimes
Surveillance: The group uses a hidden camera to film all its encounters with targets
Vigilantes: The Facebook homepage of 'Letzgo Hunting', a group of parents exposing alleged paedophiles
Social media: The group posts videos of its sting operations on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, pictured
The clip was viewed 4,000 times within two hours yesterday. The group’s Twitter account was also inundated with messages of support from members of the public as word of their activities spread.
The group – three men and a woman assisted by 13 ‘helpers’ – admit to being vigilantes but say they are not a lynch mob and never threaten violence.
But Leicestershire Police warned that such ‘naming and shaming’ tactics threatened ‘chances of success in court’, potentially blocking justice.
Child welfare charity the NSPCC also urged the group to step back and said tracking down paedophiles must be done ‘by proper authorities’.
And Warwickshire Police and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre added to warnings that vigilantes could harm investigations.
Letzgo Hunting’s leader, who calls himself Scumm Buster, told the Daily Mail he works in the security industry, but declined to reveal the backgrounds of the others. He said the group had 84 online profiles, using images of young-looking adult female friends with their consent. Sometimes these were airbrushed to remove signs of ageing such as wrinkles and ‘make the girls look obviously young’.
Arrests: Seven alleged predators have been apprehended over the past few weeks thanks to the group
Controversial: Police have warned that the vigilantes could be undermining legitimate law enforcement
He added: ‘Usually the men meet us under their real names but we will also try to find out what car they will be arriving in, so we can make a note of the registration plate to pass on to the police.’
He said the explicit nature of some of the men’s online messages was ‘shocking’, but explained it was crucial to actually meet each suspect because that is what proves their ‘intent’ to break the law under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 by inciting a child to participate in a sexual act.
The men are asked to bring condoms and alcohol to the meetings and sometimes the female member of the vigilante group is used as ‘bait’ to ensure the men step out of their cars.
So far, they have carried out nine ‘stings’, resulting in seven confrontations. The other two men drove away after becoming suspicious.
As a result, Leicestershire Police have arrested three men. One further arrest has been made by West Midlands Police, one by Warwickshire Police and another yesterday by Nottinghamshire Police.
Scumm Buster said the group, aged 20 to 50 and from the Hinckley area of Leicestershire, are ‘close friends’ and openly film their suspects.
The footage is immediately passed to the police and is removed from the group’s website when an arrest is made. They are currently monitoring up to 50 men online, he added.