PENTICTON — A group of Penticton residents has taken it upon themselves to catch ‘creepers’ and expose them on social media by posing as young teenagers on online dating sites and then confronting the men who agree to meet in person.
“I have to lie about my age when I create a profile usually but I create a profile on a dating site like Tinder or something like that,” says Tyler Fritsen, who leads the Penticton chapter of the group.
The group, Creeper Catchers, has chapters throughout the country and now the first one in the Okanagan is in full swing.
“I have lots of nieces and nephews and godsons and people that have daughters growing up in town and I just figure there needs to be somebody watching out for them,” Fritsen told Global News.
Fritsen has posted videos of recent confrontations on social media, but this vigilantism has police asking the public to leave investigations up to the RCMP.
“This is an activity that is not something the RCMP would condone or recommend,” said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.
“In regard to monitoring criminal activities online, this work should be left to police officers who can do this in a controlled environment. This way, evidence can be obtained to support charges, which is the best way to get dangerous offenders off our streets.”
However, Fritsen says it’s up to the public to out these child predators on social media.
In one of the ‘undercover’ investigations Fritsen was involved in, he says the man, who thought he was conversing with a 14-year-old girl, sent a photo of his penis to her.
“I never initiate anything sexual or anything like that I always tell them I’m a virgin and that I’ve never kissed a guy and they just put themselves in a hole,” says Fritsen.
Fritsen says while there are only a few bad apples, he’s determined to catch them all.
“Within the first three sentences I’m telling them my age and most of them tell me I’m too young and stop talking to me but then there’s the couple that continue talking to me.”
Meanwhile, RCMP are advising people to contact their local police service or cybertip.ca to report suspected online child exploitation to avoid putting themselves in danger.
“We’re always concerned when people decide to bypass law enforcement and take matters into their own hands as when that happens, there is risk that investigations can be jeopardized and key evidence can be lost,” says Moskaluk.
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