Footage has emerged of a suspected paedophile having a panic attack as he was collared by a vigilante group on Facebook Live.
The 34-year-old had a 40 minute meltdown after he was met by undercover organisation The Silent Justice, who accused him of trying to groom a 12-year-old girl for sex.
The group expose paedophiles by setting up fake profiles of children and young teens on social media, broadcast the confrontation live on Facebook.
They claimed he sent sexually explicit messages to an adult posing as a 12-year-old girl on the dating app Qeep before arriving to meet in Doncaster.
The 34-year-old had a 40 minute meltdown after he was met by undercover organisation The Silent Justice, who accused him of trying to groom a 12-year-old girl for sex
When challenged he claimed he was trying to ‘keep her safe’ from ‘freaks’ online by scaring her away from the app and insisted he had no sexual intentions.
A female vigilante asked: ‘So, you think teaching her about sex is protecting her? You wanted to teach her sex.’
But the Silent Justice group revealed messages he allegedly sent in which he called her ‘my little sl*t’ and described in graphic detail how he would sexually abuse her.
When the ‘girl’ told him she was scared, he allegedly replied: ‘Do as I say…and you won’t get into trouble.’
He then claimed his Qeep had been ‘hacked’ before saying he had never used the app.
He then said he’d in fact arranged to meet a ‘nurse’ and accused the group of ‘trapping’ him.
He said: ‘What the f***? I’ve come to meet a f****** girl who can drive. What kind of 12-year-old can drive?’
He then had a panic attack and tried to shuffle away from the group.
One of them warned: ‘If I have to take you down, I will…I’m not going to attack you.’
He was then left sobbing uncontrollably on the ground.
He said: ‘I’ve not tried to meet children. No, no, no, no.’
He continued to protest his innocence until police arrived and arrested him on suspicion of child grooming.
The footage, from September 17, was streamed live to Facebook.
He continued to protest his innocence until police arrived and arrested him on suspicion of child grooming
Earlier this week the UK’s leading police officer on child protection admitted forces may have to work with vigilante groups to stop online paedophiles because of a dramatic rise in their evidence being used in court.
A Freedom of Information request by the BBC revealed vigilante evidence was used in 44 per cent of cases of meeting a child after sexual grooming in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2016 – compared to just 11 per cent in 2014.
Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the national lead for child protection at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said he wanted all self-appointed paedophile hunting groups to stop but admitted: ‘I am not winning that conversation.’
Asked if they could work alongside each other, he told the BBC: ‘I think that’s something we’re going to have to potentially have to look at, yes, but it comes with some real complexity.’
MailOnline have approached South Yorkshire Police for comment.
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