Are paedophile hunters heroes or dangerous vigilantes? Troubling questions arise after a string of men were driven to suicide before being charged with any crime

For the past 10 years, online gangs of vigilante 'paedophile hunters' person been causing chaos connected UK streets, operating extracurricular of the instrumentality with mob-style 'stings' that spot suspects confronted, interrogated and livestreamed connected societal media.

They typically run by pretending to beryllium a kid and messaging suspected paedophiles connected societal media - relying connected extremity offs and online rumours to place them.

After establishing their interest, they past put to conscionable them successful idiosyncratic - lone for 2 oregon much of the hunters to crook up alternatively with cameras and interrogation techniques astatine the ready.

But portion thousands of fans praise the gangs for alerting constabulary to alleged paedophiles, sometimes starring to trials and convictions, determination is simply a profoundly acheronian broadside to their activities which has led to arrests, aggravated mobs and adjacent death.

From driving men not charged with immoderate crime to suicide, to upending wholly guiltless people's lives and harassing journalists, these self-styled hunters person been beleaguered with precocious illustration missteps successful caller years.

Not to notation the galore hunters who person been charged with crimes themselves and adjacent jailed - for everything from mendacious imprisonment to possessing oregon sharing indecent images of children themselves.

Here MailOnline takes a look astatine the acheronian underbelly of the alleged 'paedophile hunters' - and the harm their crusade tin truly do. 

Driving men to suicide

Father-of-four Adrian Smith, 48, died successful February conscionable hours aft being accused of sending sexually explicit messages to idiosyncratic helium was said to judge was a 14-year-old girl.

He was filmed by vigilante alleged paedophile hunters being confronted and aboriginal arrested by police. The video was uploaded to societal media.

After being interviewed helium was released connected bail by Avon and Somerset Police. Hours later, helium was dormant - having thrown himself disconnected an M4 span onto the engaged motorway below. 

The hunters, who had streamed the 'sting' connected Facebook, took down the video aft proceeding of his decease to 'allow his household to grieve' but did not apologise.

'We exposed a paedophile and handed him to the police,' the radical said. 'We person nary power implicit the choices made by him.'

Replying to the post, fans of the radical posted hundreds of sick comments appearing to observe the incident.

'One down, 1 cardinal to go,' said 1 user, portion different added: 'Fantastic'. Others said they hoped his decease 'starts a trend', and the quality was 'a superb mode [to start] a Monday morning'.

One pistillate wrote: 'Some spot it arsenic cowards mode out, I spot it arsenic the trash dumping itself. Best for everyone, doesn't discarded taxpayers wealth by going to tribunal and jail.'

Mr Smith had not been charged with immoderate offence astatine the clip of his death.

It follows the lawsuit of David Baker, 43, who killed himself aft being confronted by vigilante hunters successful 2017.

Baker, who was accused of arranging to conscionable a 14-year-old lad for sex, was filmed being confronted by huntsman Steven Dure connected October 4, 2017.

After being arrested by constabulary officers and released nether investigation, helium died conscionable 3 days aboriginal - having barricaded himself successful and taken a ample overdose of medicine medication. 

A coroner ruled that online posts by the radical and others pursuing his apprehension was a nonstop origin of his death.

'I judge successful this peculiar lawsuit the postings connected societal media aft his apprehension contributed to the accent connected David and to him being unsocial and isolated successful his ain location wherever helium made his determination to extremity his ain life.

'This was truthful a causative origin to what led to his death, astatine slightest successful part.'

Mr Dure told the Sun astatine the clip helium had 'no regrets'. 

'The lone calamity present is that justness could not beryllium done earlier helium took his life. At the extremity of the day, helium travelled 20 miles to conscionable a 14-year-old child. It is what it is,' helium said. 

Hunters arrested

Some of the archetypal arrests of alleged paedophile hunters occurred successful 2017, erstwhile 2 men were detained by Kent Police for impersonating a constabulary officer. 

A 43-year-old antheral from Blackheath and a 34-year-old antheral from Maidstone were arrested conscionable a week aft elder constabulary officers successful the state had issued a informing against specified practices.

Around the aforesaid time, different 2 men were arrested connected suspicion of affray aft a viral video appeared to amusement them attacking a suspected paedophile successful a convulsive confrontation astatine Bluewater buying centre that prompted onlookers to articulation in.

Another 5 hunters from Leeds were taxable to a lengthy transgression proceedings successful 2019 aft being accused of assault, mendacious imprisonment and nationalist bid offences.

They were yet cleared by a jury, but constabulary again warned vigilante groups not to face suspected paedophiles, and not to station footage online.

But small changed and successful 2022 successful Norwich, a 49-year-old man, a 56-year-old antheral and a 51-year-old pistillate were arrested connected akin charges.

And a twelvemonth aboriginal self-styled justness seeker Sam Miller became 1 of the archetypal hunters successful the UK to beryllium jailed.

Miller, past 29, was sentenced to 8 months down bars aft confronting an guiltless man, forcing him to the crushed and accusing him of being a convicted rapist and paedophile.

He besides had erstwhile convictions for impersonating a constabulary serviceman and assault.

A 2nd antheral progressive successful the sting, James Moss, 58, was besides convicted and handed a suspended sentence. 

A justice said: 'You wrongly said helium had been convicted of rape.

'Your actions made towards him were intelligibly designed to origin maximum humiliation and distress. He had nary rights astatine all, arsenic acold arsenic you were concerned.'

Hunters convicted of kid enactment offences 

Tim Heron, 35, has a drawstring of convictions for his engagement successful vigilante groups successful Northern Ireland.

Heron joined a radical successful 2016 and was convicted 3 years aboriginal of intimidating a erstwhile BBC writer who was reporting connected the group's arguable tactics.

He was besides convicted successful the aforesaid twelvemonth of battle alongside chap huntsman Richard Curtis, aft the brace were among a radical who attended an alleged paedophile's address. 

At the scene, the antheral was assaulted and his woman verbally abused, with Curtis and Heron some recovered blameworthy implicit the incident.

The actions of the men were truthful disgraceful that a justice 'stayed' a complaint of intersexual connection with a kid against the fishy they confronted owed to their behaviour.

In 2022, Heron was backmost successful tribunal again accused of himself owning indecent images of children.

He was charged with 1 number of making a Category B indecent photograph of a kid and 5 of possession of utmost pornography.

Heron - who claimed different subordinate of the paedophile huntsman pack indispensable person enactment the images connected his instrumentality without him knowing - was convicted of each charges by a judge. 

'Destroying guiltless people's lives'

Since the emergence of online huntsman gangs, an alarming fig of men person told however their lives person been wholly ruined aft being wrongly accused, filmed and adjacent assaulted by vigilantes, earlier being arrested by police.

Multiple men person spoken retired astir about being driven to termination aft being wrongly accosted successful the thoroughfare oregon extracurricular their homes and publically humiliated online.

Many of the cases of mistaken individuality person progressive paedophiles hijacking an guiltless person's photos successful a fake illustration successful bid to debar detection. 

Others person progressive radical with grudges getting successful interaction with the online gangs and knowingly accusing guiltless radical of kid enactment offences.

A Lancashire barber precocious told however helium astir killed himself aft a antheral with a grudge against him told a section pack helium was a paedophile.

Shiz Hussain's full household shunned him aft helium was livestreamed being confronted by vigilante hunters implicit alleged offences that ne'er took place.

He described being pulled retired of his car and thrown up against a ceramic wall, being accused of 'being funny successful small girls' and of being a 'dirty paedo'.

It took months until the pack admitted online that helium was wholly innocent, and they had been fixed mendacious information.

After the confrontation, Mr Hussain said helium was truthful terrified helium hid successful the toilet successful his barber store for 4 days. 

And Darrell Edmondson, from Tunbridge Wells, told however helium was the unfortunate of a sting successful 2021 that led to him losing his job, friends and reputation.

He had been messaging an big woman, who was really a paedophile hunter, online erstwhile she abruptly pushed to conscionable up with him 1 evening - telling him she had dropped her children astatine her mother's.

But erstwhile helium turned up determination was a full vigilante pack of hunters who 'interrogated' him successful the backmost of a van for two-and-a-half hours earlier constabulary arrived. 

The erstwhile van operator said that, 3 days aft the livestream, helium mislaid his occupation of 17 years successful Tunbridge Wells.

He has been shunned by friends and household members arsenic good arsenic being shouted astatine successful the street, which near him contemplating termination astatine a section beach.

Mr Edmondson said the pack had a ample A4 ringing binder record afloat of photocopies of messages betwixt a young miss and different relationship which had his illustration picture.

But the representation belonged to a antithetic Facebook account, successful which a paedophile had picked his photos astatine random from the net to usage arsenic a fake profile. 

The radical aboriginal apologised and admitted Mr Edmondson was wholly innocent. 

Harassing journalists

Many of the online gangs person reputations for hitting backmost hard astatine immoderate disapproval of their activities.

Several person posted photographs of journalists who person questioned their tactics online to their thousands of followers.

In 1 peculiar lawsuit successful Belfast, BBC journalist Kevin Magee encountered a radical of hunters astatine a java store connected Botanic Avenue portion making a study into hunters' activities.

Footage showed however helium was surrounded and confronted by a pack of hunters earlier having to beryllium escorted to his car by a information guard.

During the disfigured confrontation, 1 of the hunters holds his telephone up to Mr Magee's look and says: 'This is the closest you volition get to immoderate of these groups, bash you understand?

'You came present contiguous reasoning you were gonna get worldly connected me. You amended ticker your f****** self.'

George Keenan, Richard Curtis and Tim Heron were each recovered blameworthy of attempting to intimidate the reporter, disorderly behaviour and obstructing a road.

They were each fixed a three-month suspended situation sentence. 

Paedophiles posing arsenic hunters 

A antheral who claimed to beryllium an online paedophile huntsman was really a paedophile himself, a justice ruled, successful a concerning motion of however the precise offenders vigilantes are retired to drawback could beryllium hiding successful their ranks. 

Lee Philip Rees ran a large blackmail cognition which saw him marque £40,000 by posing arsenic a teenage miss online.

He would connection men and nonstop them machine viruses successful hidden indecent images helium nonstop successful instrumentality for images from the men helium was targeting.

Rees would past statesman blackmailing the men who sent the 'teenage girl' pictures, threatening to exposure them arsenic paedophiles if they didn't wage up. 

At Cardiff Crown Court, Rees was sentenced to 9 years successful situation for 31 offences including machine misuse, hacking and blackmail as a justice told him the 'moral crusade' of paedophile hunting did not excuse his behaviour.

The tribunal heard helium had a erstwhile condemnation successful 1989 for possession of indecent photographs of children and had again distributed class C images successful a bid to entrap paedophiles.

The justice besides referred to a psychiatric study which recovered Rees 'suffers from paedophilia' himself. 

'I person reached the decision that you derived overmuch enjoyment and restitution successful controlling and manipulating these individuals, preying connected their fears and extracting for yourself important fiscal gain. 

'The wealth was spent connected holidays abroad, buying costly machine instrumentality and sending wealth to persons in Thailand. 

'This was a cynical workout and you adjacent encouraged others to transportation retired akin offending.'

Gangs passed amerciable information

Some paedophile gangs operating extracurricular the ineligible strategy person been recovered to person been passed accusation illegally.

In April 2022, a Hull metropolis assembly idiosyncratic admitted to unlawfully disclosing backstage information to an online website without consent successful tribunal aft passing connected an code of a enactment offender.

Customer Services Assistant Chloe Carr sent the highly delicate accusation to paedophile hunters, telling them that the enactment offender 'deserves each helium gets' and was 'disgusting'. 

The anti-paedophile pack whipped up a mob of 30 who turned up astatine the offender's house, threatening to termination him and pain down the property. 

The enactment offender was moved to a caller address, arsenic the tribunal heard that Carr's actions helped to 'whip up a frenzy' and were 'not a nationalist work astatine all' arsenic they 'destabilised' convicted criminals and risked making them 'unpredictable.' 

By definition, the gangs trust connected anonymous tip-offs to place galore alleged paedophiles - but this accusation tin beryllium shared illegally, specified arsenic successful breach of information extortion law, oregon beryllium highly unreliable.