Creep Catcher

Creep Catcher
Abbreviation CCC,SCC,FVCC ect.
Formation Sept, 2015
Founders Dawson Raymond & Greg Slammington,
Purpose Prevention Of child sex abuse
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta
Location
Official language
English
Owner Reese Kingston
Slogan Yer Done, Bud!
Mission Their goal is to discourage online predators from luring minors.

Creep Catcher is a Canadian anti-pedophile activism organization, founded by Toronto, Ontario native Dawson Raymond currently residing in Calgary in 2015, and joined by branches in 23 other cities across Canada, as of Sept 2016. Members execute non-violent sting operations, first posing as children in chat rooms and dating sites, then agreeing to meet adults who make sexual advances. They confront the suspected child lurer on-camera with incriminating chat logs and offer a chance to make a public statement (a confession and explanation is encouraged), before posting the video and chat logs to a central website and various social media. Cooperative suspects are typically lectured to in relative privacy, while belligerents are loudly shamed and profanely ridiculed. These vigilante methods have garnered praise and scorn from mainstream media, police and citizens.

Origin and purpose

Dawson Raymond says Creep Catcher was inspired by a similar service provided by Justin Payne in Mississauga, Ontario. The goal is to scare those who try to meet children online for sex from ever doing it again, complementing official law enforcement, which sometimes overlooks or underpursues suspects, due to legal restrictions or lack of resources. Police departments generally welcome tips and evidence, but advise against civilians making stings because of the safety risk to both parties and the potential compromise of ongoing investigations. Raymond & his partner Slammington say they will stop at nothing to keep the children safe when using the Internet.[1][2]

Cities served

As of September 20th, 2016, Creep Catcher operates in 22 cities across Canada, mostly in the West. These cities and their branch presidents are:[3]

Notable stings

In June 2016, Penticton Creep Catchers Mitch Shelswell and Tyler Fritsen confronted a man who apparently intended to meet a 14-year-old girl. Shelswell told CTV News they had no plans to stop: "As long as we follow the rules given to us by Creep Catchers originally, we're doing everything legally."[4]

On August 15, 2016, Surrey Creep Catchers confronted a Coast Mountain Bus Company employee with evidence that he tried to meet a 14-year-old boy at the Central City Shopping Centre. The man drove off, first striking a parked truck and almost hitting Ryan LaForge, who filmed the encounter. The Surrey RCMP closed its case without charges, and the man's employer began an internal investigation.[5]

In August 2016, a University of British Columbia Student Housing and Hospitality employee, whom court records suggest was charged with four counts of luring a child under 14 in 2008, apologized profusely and tearfully when confronted by Surrey Creep Catchers about trying to meet a 15-year-old girl and sending her (actually LaForge) pictures of his penis.[6]

On September 7, 2016, Surrey Creep Catchers caught an off-duty Surrey RCMP officer who allegedly tried to meet a 14-year-old girl at the Central City Shopping Centre. On September 16, the RCMP announced Constable Dario Devic was charged with communicating with a person under the age of 16 for the purposes of sexual interference or sexual touching, and breach of trust. He was released on bail with orders to avoid children or places children gather.[7]

On Oct. 21, 2016, Fraser Valley Creep Catchers released a video aledgley showing Windebank Elementary School Principal Jason Obert at a mall believing he would meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex. [8] [9]

Media opinion

Some commentators, like John Gormley of The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, opined that Creep Catchers, while meaning well, create danger for themselves and their suspects, jeopardize official investigations and undermine the rule of law. Other newspapers, like The Now, claim their chapters have public support and encourage police to work with them for their ability to weed out suspects.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dawson Raymond poses as young girl on the Internet to lure and confront alleged pedophiles", by Michael Platt, Calgary Sun
  2. ↑ 'He tried to run me over': Pedophile-targeting vigilante sting goes awry", by Josh Elliot, CTVNews.ca
  3. ↑ Official Chapter President List, from CreepCatcher.ca
  4. ↑ "Another 'Creep Catchers' video prompts RCMP warning to vigilantes", by Kent Molgat and Kendra Mangione, CTV Vancouver
  5. ↑ "Man in Creep Catchers video works for Coast Mountain Bus Company", from CTV Vancouver
  6. ↑ "VIDEO: UBC employee caught trying to lure underage girl", by Jill Slattery, Global News
  7. ↑ "RCMP officer charged with child luring, breach of trust", from CBC News
  8. ↑ Former B.C. elementary school principal charged with child luring
  9. ↑ Former school principal charged with luring after Creep Catchers sting
  10. ↑ OUR VIEW: Surrey's Creep Catcher has struck a chord with community", from The Now

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.