David Hanson from Benwell, Newcastle, in the UK, believed he was meeting a 14-year-old girl he had been grooming online.
The plan was to meet in a public place before going back to the girl’s house as her parents were away for the night.
Hanson’s plans for the evening were made clear by the content of his backpack, which contained nothing but condoms, a toothbrush and toothpaste.
But instead of the girl – who he had been exchanging explicit messages up until the day before the encounter – Hansom was faced with two paedophile hunters from online vigilante group Dark Justice.
When the men told Hanson who they were, he began to panic, frantically defending himself before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fainted.
“The defendant said: ‘I wasn’t going to have sex with her’,” prosecutor Anne Richardson told Newcastle Crown Court this week.
“He said he felt sick and looked as if he was going to faint. He asked to join Dark Justice as he agreed with what they were doing. He repeatedly said he was sorry, he had been stupid.”
Hanson was sentenced to three years of community service.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
