This happens more often than people realise, but not every instance makes the paper. Legislators should pass legislation outlawing these scumbag groups, and Facebook and Google (which owns YouTube) should also remove these offensive groups from their platforms. And before you try coming here defending these dumb fucks, their page is full of the same vitriol as any other vigilante page, and the only reason they changed their policies (as noted in this news story) is because they are in danger of being sued. I'm sure that policy won't be strickly enforced once the fear of lawsuits die down. They are also using QAnon hashtags:
Vigilante Justice: Online groups target child predators, Indiana prosecutors concerned about 'risky behavior'
Author: Dustin Grove
Published: 11:00 PM EDT April 27, 2021
Updated: 1:00 AM EDT April 28, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS — A growing number of county prosecutors say they’re concerned about civilian groups taking the law into their own hands in an effort to expose alleged child predators.
“It’s very dangerous,” said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings. “They have engaged in very risky behavior here several times. Someone is likely to be hurt if they continue.”
Similar statements have come out in recent weeks from prosecutors in Elkhart, Howard and Orange counties....
Law enforcement officials call them vigilantes. But Austin Spain said he’s just trying to protect children in his community from a problem he believes the justice system can’t keep up with....
Prosecutors warn confrontations could backfire
Critics argue this kind of thing isn’t without major risks.
“When citizens take matters into their own hands, it can usually be harmful to a successful prosecution, leading to someone who may well have been guilty walking free,” said Howard County Prosecutor Mark McCann. “Vigilantes also open themselves up to potential lawsuits for libel and slander should the person they are going after decide to bring a lawsuit.”
Just ask Joey Dewitt.
"I wasn’t even the right guy," he said.
A predator catchers group was trying to find a man they’d been chatting with online who went by “Joey" from either Anderson or Muncie.
“So as they’re talking with this guy and calling him out saying what all he did, everybody watching that live feed was searching for Joey from Muncie or Joey from Anderson to find him on Facebook and I’m the one they found,” said Dewitt.
Within minutes, his Facebook page blew up with more than 300 vulgar accusations.
“There were people calling my HR department saying they had a child molester there,” Dewitt recalled.
They also messaged Dewitt’s friends of Facebook and even his wife.
The online mob eventually realized they had the wrong man.
Predator Catchers Indianapolis administrators scolded their followers and banned some from their page.
But Joey Dewitt said the damage was already done.
“I didn’t know if any of these people knew where I lived. They knew where I worked cause they blasted my work name on that live feed so even now I still don’t know if everybody got the memo that I’m not that guy” he said. “Are they meaning to do good? I think they are but there's just so many things that could go wrong with how and what they're doing.”
Good intentions don't always help in court
"I mean, we're talking safety, we're talking people's livelihoods," said Indiana State Police Capt. Ron Galaviz.
"While these groups may have the best intentions in mind... Law enforcement officials are the only ones qualified to conduct these kinds of investigations,” said Elkhart County Prosecutor Vickey Becker. “Having gone through extensive training, these officials know the right techniques in collecting and preserving the evidence that is necessary to prosecute these kinds of cases and ensuring that an investigation is done objectively, and professionally, respecting the constitutional rights of suspects."
Cummings said he’s told local groups his office will not file charges in any of the cases. Instead, he’s encouraging them to bring information to law enforcement officials and not to confront the alleged would-be offenders.
After the incident with Dewitt, Predator Catchers Indianapolis posted rules for people to follow on their page. Among them, followers may not contact alleged offenders or anyone related to them. Followers must also refrain from posting full names of anyone online.
Asked whether he think he’s playing with fire, Spain said he doesn’t disagree.
“Eventually I may get hurt. (But) if I don't do it, somebody's for sure gonna get hurt right now,” he said.
And law enforcement officials say that's the problem.
