Steve thought he was meeting a teenager in a coffee shop in Surrey, B.C. to talk about his art. Then the cameras came out.
A stranger accused the 33-year-old of breaking the law. Soon, video of the confrontation was posted online by a group that claims it goes after 鈥済oofs鈥� 鈥� prison slang for pedophiles. His face and name was clearly visible.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put you on Facebook, we鈥檙e going to put you on YouTube, you鈥檙e going to be all over the place,鈥� the man told him.
鈥淚n my mind I knew I didn鈥檛 do anything wrong,鈥� Steve said later, pointing to the record of the conversation that remained on his phone. 鈥淚 told him, 鈥榊ou didn鈥檛 catch me doing anything.鈥欌��
W5 is not using Steve鈥檚 surname to avoid further harm to his reputation. But Steve is among the few people who have decided to take on the Creep Catchers and try to win their reputations back.
The Creep Catchers are a nationwide network of self-appointed pedophile hunters. At one point, the group had more than a dozen chapters across Canada.
The catchers chat with suspected child predators online, and lure them for a confrontation in real life which they post on social media and encourage their supporters to share.
But a W5 documentary called 鈥淐reep Out鈥� has found cases where confrontations of people who authored disturbing chats are posted alongside confrontations of people whose chats don鈥檛 have any sexual content.
Some targets have told W5 they feared for their jobs if employers found out about the allegations. Some threatening online posts were the reason one target told W5 he feared for his safety. The documentary also explores what happened when one woman committed suicide after being shamed online.
The Surrey Creep Catcher president Ryan Laforge told 麻豆影视 he鈥檚 confident he鈥檚 only getting the guilty.
鈥淣inety per cent of our videos, they admit that they screwed up, and that they鈥檙e sorry, or whatever. The other ten per cent run away,鈥� he said.
In Steve鈥檚 case, the conversation began when he answered a Craigslist ad in the 鈥渟trictly platonic鈥� section of Craigslist, called 鈥淕ood vibes only :) 鈥� w4m.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 really into art if you want to do that,鈥� Steve writes. 鈥淏icycle adventures are fun too.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 15. If your ok with that then let鈥檚 chill,鈥� Bekky says.
鈥淗ey I鈥檓 33,鈥� Steve responds. 鈥淚f your into doing art and going on bike rides then yeah, I鈥檓 ok with your age.鈥� He sends her a link to his Instagram page that shows off some of the art.
When he arrives, he鈥檚 greeted by Laforge, who asks him if he knows the age of consent. 鈥淚t鈥檚 16,鈥� Steve says. 鈥淵ou basically broke the law,鈥� Laforge says.
The age of consent in Canada refers to sexual acts. It鈥檚 not illegal to communicate online with a young person unless there is sexual intent.
Steve first tried to reason with Laforge, over e-mail and Facebook messenger. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to lure anyone underage,鈥� Steve wrote him in October.
鈥淏uddy ur a goof go away,鈥� Laforge responds.
鈥淣o, I鈥檓 not,鈥� Steve replies.
鈥淵a u r goooooooooof,鈥� Laforge responds.
This continues back and forth until Laforge stops responding. A month later, Steve writes that he will get a lawyer.
鈥淕o f*** yourself goof,鈥� Laforge responds.
Some targets have explored lawsuits against the Creep Catchers, but that can be expensive, because some in the group claim to have few assets.
The group鈥檚 founder, Dawson Raymond, taunted some targets in a Facebook video, saying: 鈥淚鈥檝e been hearing rumours that some of these pedos are going to try to sue me. And I don鈥檛 have any money. So pay your lawyers to sue me for money I don鈥檛 have. Spend all that money to lawyer up.鈥�
Laforge himself declared bankruptcy in 2007 and his bankruptcy trustee told W5 in February that he still has not paid off the debt that he owes.
But it鈥檚 not Laforge鈥檚 money that Steve is after. So, through his lawyer, Steve is trying a different legal tactic to take the video of him down: filing a privacy complaint.
In a filing with B.C.鈥檚 privacy commissioner Steve鈥檚 lawyer, Craig E. Jones claimed that the Creep Catchers are being deceptive in how they advertise online, and they鈥檙e not following B.C. rules in how they share personal information.
He鈥檚 asked the privacy commissioner to put a stop to the Creep Catchers鈥� ads.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 function without placing deceptive ads. That鈥檚 their entire operation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 just attack a situation where they get it wrong, it attacks their entire organization. The whole legal landscape has shifted under their feet.鈥�
Jones says the privacy commissioner can levy fines of up to $100,000 per privacy breach by an organization, and make orders that can be enforced by a court.
It could make a difference for Steve鈥檚 case in the long run. But right now, the Surrey Creep Catchers are pushing back against Steve.
They responded to his privacy complaint by posting it along with his video, and asking their followers to share it once again.
Supporting document: Read the complaint to the B.C. Privacy Commissioner
