A self-styled paedophile hunter has been charged with false imprisonment.
Philip Hoban, leader of the Predator Exposure group, has been charged with two counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault by beating and a public order offence.
The charges relate to his group's activities in Leeds on 13th January 2019 and Wakefield on 11th August 2018.
The 43 year-old, from Beeston, will appear at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 11th March 2019.
Several others have been charged in connection with the alleged offences and are due to appear at the same court in March.
Prior to his court appearance, Hoban issued a statement via YouTube.
After opening with comments critical of West Yorkshire Police, he said: "When it goes in front of a jury, I'll say one thing - I'm here to protect our kids.
"Everyone is here to protect our kids, and this is what it's all about.
"If you think I've committed a crime, send me to prison, judge."
The following people have been charged in connection with the same alleged offences:
- Kelly Meadows, 39, of Lawnswood is charged with two counts of false imprisonment. She is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on 8th March 2019;
- Jordan Macdonald, 18, of Farnley is charged with two counts of false imprisonment and one count of assault by beating. He is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on 11th March 2019;
- Jordan Plain, 25, of Farnley, has been charged with false imprisonment and assault by beating. He is due to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court on 8th March 2019.
A further 52 year-old man was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and assault by beating, but has not been charged.
Predator Exposure uses undercover decoys to gather evidence against those suspected of online child grooming. Having gathered what the group considers to be sufficient evidence, the decoy arranges a meeting with the suspected groomer and members of the group lie in wait to tackle them. The confrontation is filmed and live streamed on the web.
One characteristic of Predator Exposure stings is that Hoban toys with the suspect by falsely claiming that they'll be released if they plead for forgiveness and promise not to contact children in future.
West Yorkshire Police has previously written to Predator Exposure to deter it from mounting vigilante type stings.
A police spokesperson said: "While the force does of course share the concerns of these groups regarding the internet activity of potential child abusers and the danger they present, it must be stressed that the activities they seek to engage in are the responsibility of law enforcement agencies.
"West Yorkshire Police fully investigates all allegations of child sexual exploitation and has dedicated, specialist safeguarding officers in all our policing districts."
It would be entirely reasonable to say that Predator Exposure's encounters are far more aggressive than those of similar groups. Hoban is a powerfully-built cage fighter, who most people would find intimidating to say the least. The suspects he snares are typically subjected to a protracted verbal onslaught and physical restraint prior to the arrival of the police.
Predator Exposure tackles its targets hard, both physically and verbally. Theirs is without doubt a noble cause, but there are genuine concerns that the way these operations are conducted could prejudice subsequent legal proceedings.
It would be far less prejudicial for these hunters to gather the evidence, pass it to the police and allow them to investigate, arrest and charge accordingly. Of course doing it that way doesn't lead to such online notoriety.
Update (10/11/19): Predator Exposure has now had its day in court. You can read the outcome of the trial here.
No comments:
Post a Comment