Source: palmbeachpost.com 2/6/25
Among the issues the predator cases will face: Did those arrested know their rights? Did the YouTubers collect enough evidence? Was there entrapment?
WEST PALM BEACH — By late January, nearly two dozen men awaited trial on the suspicion that they drove to Delray Beach in hopes of raping a child. None was caught by police.
Instead, a team of civilian “predator catchers” — adult YouTubers who pose online as children in hopes of identifying would-be pedophiles — lured each to a public place, confronted them with the camera rolling and called 911.
While the efforts of 561 Predator Catchers are lauded by more than 200,000 fans online, their impact on public safety is less clear. Some suspect the blurred lines between police and predator catcher may undermine the very charges they’ve helped bring against suspects.
It seems foregoing a legitimate job and entrapping people on film has become a cottage industry. There are fishing shows, cheating shows, enticing shows, etc. Makes Jerry Springer look like a sophisticated news program. Waiting for Dr. Phil to get in on the act. He’s always looking for a new angle to get his mug on screen.
Vigilantism creates crime!
How much longer before these start producing [postal situations]? Not every single one of these guys is going to go down politely.
As the consequences for getting caught get uglier and uglier… more and more of these guys are going to take precautions to make sure they don’t have to face this music.
Also, it’s only a short walk from Vigilante “Catcher” to Vigilant K*ll*r. Combine that with the first idea, you get… ******** in the Walmart parking lot!
Last but not least… Where are all the victims? These stings, both police and vigilante, catch hundreds of [derogatory labels] a year, for over a decade… so where are all their tens of thousands of “Other victims”? Official State Lies say they are all “relentless” so why do virtually none of them have any evidence of other victims? How is it possible that almost all of these 30+ year old people never leave behind any evidence of the years of “Predation” the Official State Lies demand they have engaged in?
If they are all such Master Criminals, how do they all get caught so easily by amateurs?
This was not what YouTube was created for. It started with funny and cute animal videos, then Google bought it to bombard us with non-stop ads, then influences ruined it. Now this vigilante garbage has added to the toxic cess pool.
If you are an adult pimping a fake minor online for sex, aren’t you engaged in felony sexual exploitation of a child? Their targets online think the minor is real, just like in LE stings. People are arrested and convicted for enticing/luring fake minors online for sex in LE sting operations. Of course, LE is exempt from the exploitation charge (since they are engaged in creating criminals), but these civilians don’t, or shouldn’t, enjoy the same immunity.