A Nanaimo man is using tactics similar to those used in the reality TV series To Catch a Predator to lure men looking for sexual encounters with teens.
The vigilante, who hides his identity and goes by the alias Robi Lawfull, recently posed as a 13-year-old girl, via text messaging on his cellphone, to lure a man from the south Island to Nanaimo.
Lawful posted a video on Facebook of their meeting in which Lawfull revealed his identity to the unidentified man, who is allegedly from the Victoria area, and publicly accused him of intending to have sex with a 13-year-old.
Lawfull, who has not responded to News Bulletin requests for an interview, operates as part of Creep Catcher (Nanaimo Chapter).
Creep Catcher was started by Dawson Raymond, president of Creep Catcher, in Calgary, Alta.
Dawson has also not responded to requests for interviews other than to say in an e-mail that he started and organized Creep Catcher in Canada. He referred questions about the Nanaimo incident to Lawfull.
Const. Gary O'Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, confirmed police had identified the man in Lawfull's video and that an investigation was being conducted by Westshore RCMP detachment. O'Brien also cautioned against attempting to confront suspects.
"We're always concerned about these types of incidents, particularly when people decide to bypass law enforcement and take matters into their own hands," O'Brien said. "As a result of that, investigations can be jeopardized and key evidence can be lost."
He said someone who suspects a child-luring incident is taking place should call the RCMP or law enforcement agency operating in their area.