More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A Medway man has been arrested on suspicion of grooming a young girl after a vigilante paedophile-hunting group posted a video online.
It appeared to show him turning up at Gillingham Railway station to meet the youngster.
The video, which was posted on YouTube by a group calling themselves the Internet Interceptors, shows a man being challenged by a man and a woman, over claims he had arranged to meet a 13-year-old girl there for sex.
The seven-minute clip, which has been viewed more than 200 times, shows a 55-year-old Gillingham man being confronted by the pair after he allegedly had an online conversation with someone he thought was a teenage girl.
His confronters then tell him he will be arrested as they will be handing over the footage and their other evidence of the online chats to the police.
Kent Police confirmed a 55-year-old man from Gillingham was arrested on Tuesday, April 26 on suspicion of grooming and that he has been released on bail pending further inquires.
But the footage has also prompted police to advise people thinking about taking the law into their own hands to try and catch alleged sex offenders.
DI Robert Chitham of Kent Police’s paedophile online investigation team said: “I would strongly discourage people from taking the law into their own hands to avoid them being put in any possible danger.
“Revealing the identity of alleged paedophiles, often on the basis of little information, frequently leads to suspects being threatened and diverts significant police resources into protecting them.
“I would like to reassure the public that we proactively target this type of offence and work hard to gather evidence in a lawful manner that will stand up in court.
“Anyone with information about online grooming should contact police on 101 or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
