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17 February 2006  Chatmag News.

A 19-year-old Buffalo Grove, Illinois man was arrested on Feb. 9th for allegedly soliciting sex on the Internet. The arrest followed an Internet Chat conversation with an operator from the vigilante group, Perverted-Justice.com

A meeting was arranged between Daniel W. Franks and the Perverted-Justice.com operator, who was posing as a 13 year old girl. The meeting was to be at the Arlington Heights, Ill.  Memorial Library, at approximately 1:30 a.m. Only after the meeting had been arranged did the Perverted-Justice.com operator, residing not in Illinois but in California, inform the Arlington Heights Police Department, who responded to the scene, arresting Mr. Franks.

Police Departments nationwide rely on citizens reporting of crimes. Calls regarding a local crime, and placed by a person in another state, are generally considered a hoax by many jurisdictions.  When the crime involves The Internet however, it is plausible that a person residing outside of the local jurisdiction may have pertinent information that warrants further investigation.

In the case of the Illinois man accused of soliciting sex with a minor, the Perverted-Justice.com operator conducted the entire "sting" from initial contact to arranging a physical meeting, without the prior knowledge of the local police department. The local authorities when informed had no opportunity to formulate a course of action, in essence, walking blind into an unknown situation.  The Perverted-Justice.com operator who called did so with the naive assumption that the local police would take their word carte blanche, without any verification as to the authenticity of the information.

Stings conducted in public are always pre planned, perimeters established, and in a possible hostile environment, local citizens moved out of harms way. There was no time for the local police to secure the area, or fully understand the scope of the situation, due to the lack of understanding of law enforcement tactics by the Perverted-Justice.com operator.

Perverted-Justice.com and their operators are cyber vigilantes rather than any recognized law enforcement agency.  Calls made to local police departments are made as citizens, not as legitimate authorities.  Perverted-Justice.com has deluded their operators into believing that they have legal status as duly appointed officers of the law.  This is a fundamental problem with all vigilante groups.

Incidents such as the one in Illinois sets the stage for those who would copycat the methods of vigilante groups, dispatching local authorities into what was ostensibly a meeting with an alleged predator, which could turn out to be anything from a harmless prank call, to an ambush.

Police departments should exercise caution and follow established procedures when receiving any call from online vigilante groups or their members.
 

--Chatmag News Staff--

External Link:

Vigilante Web Site Perverted-Justice.com harming legitimate law enforcement efforts to stop online predators.

"Cybervigilantes" -  Issues to Consider.

Pioneer Press.  Alleged sexual predator arrested outside library.