A new breed of vigilantes says they鈥檙e defending children from predators looking to lure them online 鈥� and all they need is a smart phone.
They make fake social media profiles, masquerading as vulnerable teens, to turn the tables on the so-called 鈥渃reeps.鈥�
The online chats turn into real-world confrontations, and the smart phones used to arrange the meet becomes a camera to record the whole thing.
Hundreds of Canadians from across the country have been exposed when these groups post videos to sites like Facebook and YouTube. A handful of people exposed have faced criminal charges. Together, the videos have tens of millions of views.
But a W5 investigation of the largest vigilante network, the Creep Catchers, has found their cameras often don鈥檛 tell the whole story.
Cases with truly horrifying chats have been lumped in with chats that show no evidence of any sexual intent. And the nationwide network鈥檚 enormous online audience isn鈥檛 told the difference.
Critics say the group doesn鈥檛 understand the law 鈥� and may be motivated less by a pursuit of justice as a pursuit of fame and social media reach, which can lead to money.
鈥淢y feeling was more or less anger towards the people who did this,鈥� said Eric Rajah, the father of one young man targeted near Red Deer, Alberta.
In the video, the Red Deer Creep Catcher accuses Rajah鈥檚 son of inviting a 15-year-old boy over for the night. The young man denies it in tears.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a creep. I鈥檓 not a molester. I鈥檓 nothing,鈥� he says.
W5 has reviewed the chat logs in that case, and found no sexual content. The young man said he was offering help to a teenager who said he was growing up gay in rural Alberta. The chat logs show the pair is meeting 鈥渏ust as friends.鈥�
Rajah said video had caused his 22-year-old son tremendous distress and serious damage to his reputation. 鈥淭hey are using our son, or any young person for that matter, as cheap entertainment,鈥� he said.
And that鈥檚 not the only case. In the documentary, 鈥淐reep Out,鈥� W5 has explored other times where apparently innocent people have been labelled 鈥済oofs鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 prison slang for child molester. The documentary also explores what happened in one case where a woman targeted committed suicide.
It鈥檚 no coincidence the prison term 鈥済oof鈥� is their word of choice. W5 has learned that some of these 鈥淐reep Catchers鈥� have themselves a long history of criminal convictions, with one doing federal prison time.
At its height, the Creep Catchers network existed in more than a dozen cities and towns from Surrey, B.C. to St. John, N.B.
It was founded by Dawson Raymond, who moved to Alberta after a break-and-enter conviction in Ontario. He had watched similar videos put up by Canada鈥檚 first pedophile hunter, Toronto鈥檚 Justin Payne, the first person in Canada to make a name for himself hunting pedophiles.
Raymond wanted to convict his targets. But no charges have been approved in Alberta, where police say they want nothing to do with the Creep Catchers.
Insp. Dave Dubnyk of Alberta鈥檚 Integrated Child Exploitation Unit says the evidence collected in stings by this group is rarely usable in court. And he says the Creep Catchers have actually interfered with police operations, including one case where a man police were ready to arrest, was confronted by the vigilantes.
He cut off ties with investigators, and disappeared to Winnipeg. Court documents show he鈥檚 now charged with molesting a toddler and a baby.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e doing is absolutely not protecting children in any way,鈥� Dubnyk said.
Without the support of the police, Raymond decided to widen the net, including targets whether they wanted to have sex with a child or not.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 meeting these guys unless they were saying something really sexual. We weren鈥檛 trying to catch these guys unless they were getting convicted,鈥� he says in another Facebook video to his followers.
鈥淲ell they鈥檙e not getting convicted. We鈥檙e going to start meeting all these f***ers if they want to kiss or go to a movie or whatever because it鈥檚 f***ed up to want to do that with a kid regardless,鈥� he says.
The trouble is, just arranging to meet a child is not against the law, said Craig E. Jones, a B.C. lawyer who has been following the Creep Catchers. Behind the chat, there must be proof of intent to kidnap or sexually abuse a child.
Such a wide definition of internet luring would capture innocent interactions, like between a child and a mentor, a parent, a music teacher or a coach, he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disturbing that a subgroup of people are so fixated on the idea of children as sexual objects that they can鈥檛 conceive of another purpose for an adult and a minor to have a conversation,鈥� he said.
Dawson Raymond didn鈥檛 agree to an interview. The Red Deer Creep Catcher, Karl Young, has been convicted more than 25 times in his native New Brunswick, where there is a warrant for his arrest. He still believes Raymond鈥檚 interpretation of the rules, and says he鈥檒l keep going to protect kids.
鈥淚f I had a 12-year-old boy and you asked him to come over and spend the night to watch a movie, is that right?鈥� he said.
Young鈥檚 鈥渃atch鈥� actually led police to arrest him: he now faces charges of harassment and mischief in Red Deer.
