Formation September 2015 | Official language English | |
Founders Dawson Raymond and Greg Slammington Purpose Prevention of child sexual abuse Headquarters Calgary, Alberta, Canada Location Several cities in Canada | ||
Creep Catcher is a Canadian anti-pedophile activism organization founded by Toronto native Dawson Raymond and joined by branches in 23 other cities across Canada as of September 2016. Members execute non-violent sting operations, first posing as young adults 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.
Contents
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.
Local branches
As of September 20, 2016, Creep Catcher operates in 22 cities across Canada, mostly in the western region of the country.
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."
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.
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.
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.
On October 21, 2016, Fraser Valley Creep Catchers released a video allegedly showing Windebank Elementary School Principal Jason Obert at a mall believing he would meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Media opinion
Some commentators, like John Gormley of Saskatoon's The 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.
Jason Proctor of CBC News reports that this trend of online pedophile hunters though not new, has been encouraged through success early on, and discouraged by "A chorus of police chiefs", citing an article by Chad Pawson of the CBC.