Young vigilantes using honey traps to expose alleged sex predators

A group of Victorian vigilantes are using dating apps to coax alleged sex predators to suburban parks in attempts to expose them online.

A group of young Victorian vigilantes are using dating apps to lure alleged sex predators looking for kids to suburban parks in attempts to expose them online.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the group – one of them a 17-year-old high school student – are ambushing men aged in their 40s and 50s in multiple suburbs as part of an online sting to expose them as “pedophiles” on an Instagram profile with more than 1000 followers.

A source with close knowledge of the group’s inner-workings told the Herald Sun at least five teens were luring the men by setting up honey traps on various dating apps.

“They are sending fake images of underage girls to the men and seeing who takes the bait,” the source said.

“They have already trapped at least seven men in Berwick and Cranbourne. They are doing it for social media likes and notoriety.

“In some cases I am aware of this group becoming threatening and even violent in some incidents.”

In one confronting video posted to Instagram, a man is seen being ambushed by a group of teens at a playground in Melbourne’s southeast.

Vigilantes are sending fake images of underage girls to the men to see who takes the bait.

The teens, who posed as minors, asked the man: “Why are you doing this?”

The man, who appears visibly threatened, responds: “I wasn’t actually looking for 15 year olds … I was actually looking for someone in their 30s”.

“I shouldn’t have done it,” he adds.

Viewer comments on the social media posts were also encouraging the group to do more stings.

“Good on you boys, get these f---ers,” one user wrote.

The “pedophile hunting” trend, which has gone viral in the US in recent years, has quickly gained momentum in Australia, with former members admitting there are “dozens” of underground groups motivated to “take the law into their own hands” to catch online predators.

A man, 23, who was previously involved in a vigilante group tracking down alleged pedophiles across Melbourne, said he saw each confrontation as a “victory”.

“It’s like you’ve defeated the enemy when you’ve lured a pedophile to a park and intimidate them so much that they will never do it again,” he told the Herald Sun.

The former member said he first became aware of the vigilante group after finding Australian-based community hubs on Facebook that bragged about “hunting” pedophiles.

“I was put in touch with people in America that do this type of stuff all the time. The

The Herald Sun has found one of these Facebook groups, which has more than 700 members.

“Everyone is sick of this plague that is pedophiles on our internet and on our streets,” the group’s description said.

“We will find you and you will get what you deserve and we will name and shame you here,” it added.

The “pedophile hunting” trend, which has gone viral in the US in recent years, has quickly gained momentum in Australia.

The man claimed he was part of at least 10 different strings in recent years, but decided to stop amid fears of criminal charges.

“I was motivated to be part of this because I saw it as a moral justice to protect young people in the community.

“I ended up leaving the group as it was becoming very risky and I didn’t want to lose my job or face other issues involving the law.”

Bond University criminologist and former detective Terry Goldsworthy said vigilante justice was “extremely problematic”.

“These people that engage in these groups are putting themselves at risk when they meet with these people,” Dr Goldsworthy said.

“If they attempt to do any arbitrary punishment then they will be committing offences of assault.

“There are some organisations that will track down suspected pedophiles and pass that information onto the police for action but it doesn’t extend out to going to meet the alleged offenders.

Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro said the behaviour of vigilante groups was fuelled by social media platforms.

“It gives these groups a venue to connect with like-minded people and then they fuel one another’s drives and they then engage in this sort of behaviour, which is potentially very dangerous and criminal.”

Victoria Police was contacted for comment.