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Newcastle: Paedo hunters who wrongly accused dad of rape face jail | UK News

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James Moss (left) and Sam Miller (right) have been convicted of false imprisonment (Picture: North News & Pictures)

Two paedophile hunters who ‘berated and humiliated’ a dad live on Facebook after wrongly accusing him of rape are facing a prison sentence.

Sam Miller, 29, and James Moss, 58, could become the first in the UK to be jailed for vigilante ‘paedo stings’ after confronting an innocent man at his house, a court heard.

Their target was forced to the ground, had a light shone in his eyes and was accused of having sex chat with a child during a 14-minute ordeal – all while being filmed on a live stream.

The pair were part of the paedo hunter group Child Online Safety Team, who get more than 1,000 viewers on their videos, when they approached a man they believed was already a convicted rapist.

Prosecutor Gavin Doig told Newcastle Crown Court that the live streaming of the ‘sting’ showed the group’s motivation was ‘publicity and grandstanding, not the detection of offenders’.

Mr Doig said: ‘The live streaming and telling him it was being viewed by a large number of people increased the impact and the trauma suffered.’

The court heard that after the vigilantes called the police to the scene, the man was questioned and held in custody for 17 hours before being released without charge.

Sam Miller, 29, was described in court as the ‘self-appointed’ leader of the vigilante group (Picture: North News & Pictures)

It was an incident so upsetting, he was left with suicidal thoughts, wore a scarf or mask in public, said his family were affected and called what happened to him ‘cyber bullying’.

He told police: ‘Fair enough if I was convicted and jailed but innocent until proven guilty. Not in their eyes, you are guilty full stop.’

Miller, of Hutton Court, Anfield Plain, Stanley, County Durham and Moss, of Laburnum Avenue, Blyth, Northumberland insisted they were trying to protect the public.

But they were both convicted of false imprisonment after a trial and were due to be sentenced yesterday.

Judge Julie Clemitson adjourned the case until June 23, however, and told the men: ‘All options are very much on the table.’

James Moss could be sentenced to jail for his part in the ‘paedo sting’ (Picture: North News & Pictures)

Mr Doig told the court during the trial that the group was ‘more concerned about Facebook likes’ than upholding the law.

He said ‘amateur groups’ have sprung up across the country that start hunting for internet offenders without the proper technology or training the police have. 

Groups pose as children online and set up sting operations to catch potential sexual predators.

Some of those groups are well intentioned, according to Mr Doig, whereas others are less so.

He added: ‘The prosecution case is the amateurs in this case cared as much, if not more, for self publicity, about notoriety, about bullying others, about acting as pretend policemen as they did about stopping online offending.’

Miller had told police the man had not committed an offence during the online conversation but still went to his house that night regardless, the court heard.

Mr Doig said: ‘At 9.15pm, Mr Miller called the police and told them not only had he decided to detain the man, he had already done it. The defendant Moss was with Miller at that time.

‘They didn’t take time to call the police before they acted but made time to live stream the events on Facebook, so we can see some of what went on.

‘The man said he was forced to the ground and held there and had a torch shone in his eyes while being questioned. Only after this process was Miller to call the police.’

Miller wrongly accused a man of being a rapist and live streamed the confrontation on Facebook (Picture: North News & Pictures)

After the man was interviewed by police, it was determined that he had not committed any crime.

Miller has previous convictions for impersonating a police officer, violent disorder and witness intimidation, while Moss has never been in trouble before.

Mr Doig said Miller appeared to be the ‘self-appointed leader’ of the group and received a letter from North Yorkshire Police in April 2020 advising him to cease his vigilante activities.

He was told that inviting potential paedophiles to public places created a risk, could hinder police investigations and result in him falling foul of the law himself – but he appeared to ignore the correspondence.

Gordon Carse, defending Miller, who handed in character references, said: ‘He believed what he did was right.’

Mr Carse said Miller, who has family responsibilities, is no longer part of the paedo hunting team and added: ‘He has stepped back from it and there are no plans to go back into it.

‘Prison will punish him but is unlikely to address the underlying causes of his offending.’

Peter Eguae, defending Moss, told the court that his client is described in his character references as a ‘gentle giant’.

He said: ‘To act outside the protection of the law certainly was not his intention. He will not be a vigilante again. He has learned a sad, long and valuable lesson.’

This week, a predator who stalked a mum-of-two before raping and burning her alive has been jailed for life.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.




Two paedo hunters could become first in UK to be jailed after wrongly accusing innocent father of being a rapist

James Moss (left) and Sam Miller (right) have been convicted of false imprisonment (Picture: North News & Pictures)

Two paedophile hunters who ‘berated and humiliated’ a dad live on Facebook after wrongly accusing him of rape are facing a prison sentence.

Sam Miller, 29, and James Moss, 58, could become the first in the UK to be jailed for vigilante ‘paedo stings’ after confronting an innocent man at his house, a court heard.

Their target was forced to the ground, had a light shone in his eyes and was accused of having sex chat with a child during a 14-minute ordeal – all while being filmed on a live stream.

The pair were part of the paedo hunter group Child Online Safety Team, who get more than 1,000 viewers on their videos, when they approached a man they believed was already a convicted rapist.

Prosecutor Gavin Doig told Newcastle Crown Court that the live streaming of the ‘sting’ showed the group’s motivation was ‘publicity and grandstanding, not the detection of offenders’.

Mr Doig said: ‘The live streaming and telling him it was being viewed by a large number of people increased the impact and the trauma suffered.’

The court heard that after the vigilantes called the police to the scene, the man was questioned and held in custody for 17 hours before being released without charge.

Sam Miller, 29, was described in court as the ‘self-appointed’ leader of the vigilante group (Picture: North News & Pictures)

It was an incident so upsetting, he was left with suicidal thoughts, wore a scarf or mask in public, said his family were affected and called what happened to him ‘cyber bullying’.

He told police: ‘Fair enough if I was convicted and jailed but innocent until proven guilty. Not in their eyes, you are guilty full stop.’

Miller, of Hutton Court, Anfield Plain, Stanley, County Durham and Moss, of Laburnum Avenue, Blyth, Northumberland insisted they were trying to protect the public.

But they were both convicted of false imprisonment after a trial and were due to be sentenced yesterday.

Judge Julie Clemitson adjourned the case until June 23, however, and told the men: ‘All options are very much on the table.’

James Moss could be sentenced to jail for his part in the ‘paedo sting’ (Picture: North News & Pictures)

Mr Doig told the court during the trial that the group was ‘more concerned about Facebook likes’ than upholding the law.

He said ‘amateur groups’ have sprung up across the country that start hunting for internet offenders without the proper technology or training the police have. 

Groups pose as children online and set up sting operations to catch potential sexual predators.

Some of those groups are well intentioned, according to Mr Doig, whereas others are less so.

He added: ‘The prosecution case is the amateurs in this case cared as much, if not more, for self publicity, about notoriety, about bullying others, about acting as pretend policemen as they did about stopping online offending.’

Miller had told police the man had not committed an offence during the online conversation but still went to his house that night regardless, the court heard.

Mr Doig said: ‘At 9.15pm, Mr Miller called the police and told them not only had he decided to detain the man, he had already done it. The defendant Moss was with Miller at that time.

‘They didn’t take time to call the police before they acted but made time to live stream the events on Facebook, so we can see some of what went on.

‘The man said he was forced to the ground and held there and had a torch shone in his eyes while being questioned. Only after this process was Miller to call the police.’

Miller wrongly accused a man of being a rapist and live streamed the confrontation on Facebook (Picture: North News & Pictures)

After the man was interviewed by police, it was determined that he had not committed any crime.

Miller has previous convictions for impersonating a police officer, violent disorder and witness intimidation, while Moss has never been in trouble before.

Mr Doig said Miller appeared to be the ‘self-appointed leader’ of the group and received a letter from North Yorkshire Police in April 2020 advising him to cease his vigilante activities.

He was told that inviting potential paedophiles to public places created a risk, could hinder police investigations and result in him falling foul of the law himself – but he appeared to ignore the correspondence.

Gordon Carse, defending Miller, who handed in character references, said: ‘He believed what he did was right.’

Mr Carse said Miller, who has family responsibilities, is no longer part of the paedo hunting team and added: ‘He has stepped back from it and there are no plans to go back into it.

‘Prison will punish him but is unlikely to address the underlying causes of his offending.’

Peter Eguae, defending Moss, told the court that his client is described in his character references as a ‘gentle giant’.

He said: ‘To act outside the protection of the law certainly was not his intention. He will not be a vigilante again. He has learned a sad, long and valuable lesson.’

This week, a predator who stalked a mum-of-two before raping and burning her alive has been jailed for life.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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