A group of vigilante teenagers took the law into their own hands and used dating apps to lure pedophiles into violent ambushes after police ignored their complaints about a schoolgirl boyfriend being groomed.
The schoolchildren, aged between 13 and 18 years old, from Lugano in Switzerland were arrested by the police earlier this month.
They were held on charges including grievous bodily harm, assault, coercion, theft, false imprisonment and extortion.
The elaborate scheme was the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy who devised a scheme to use dating apps, such as Tinder, to track adults trying to meet minors.
It was set up after local police allegedly ignored their complaints about the harassment of an underage girl by a man who sent her nude photos.
The city of Lugano in Switzerland (image). The elaborate scheme was the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy who devised a scheme to use dating apps, such as Tinder, to track adults in Lugano who were trying to meet minors.
After talking to the adults on dating apps, plans would be made via Whatsapp or Instagram to meet in person in parks or even flats in the Swiss city. Once there, the unsuspecting targets walked straight into the group’s carefully laid trap
Conversations between the two were even shared without results, so the children came up with their own solution.
After talking to the adults on dating apps, plans would be made via Whatsapp or Instagram to meet in person in parks or even flats in the Swiss city.
Once there, the unsuspecting targets walked straight into the group’s carefully laid trap.
The alleged pedophiles would first be greeted by an underage girl or boy, whose role was to persuade them to undress.
Once this was accomplished, the group of teenagers arrived on the scene, kicking and punching the person while simultaneously urinating on him, spitting on him, or shaving off his hair.
The actions were reportedly recorded and sometimes shared with third parties. The group had even considered broadcasting the acts live on social media.
When one of the teenagers was interviewed by police, he said: ‘It all started when a 35-year-old man started harassing an underage friend of mine by sending her nude photos and asking her for sex.
“We tried to file a complaint, but we were not taken seriously, we even showed the officials the chats.”
The boy emphasized that they knew they were breaking the law and continued: “We know what we did was not legal. But we wanted to send a message.”
The plan came to light after the conviction of a 49-year-old Italian on October 3 after they brutally beat him in the Besso district of Lugano.
The plan came to light following the conviction of a 49-year-old Italian on October 3 after they brutally beat him in the Besso district of Lugano.
In court, the man claimed he joined the dating app in search of his “soulmate” but then admitted to falling in love with an underage boy.
He said: ‘He told me he was fourteen years old and from then on I started making mistakes.
‘I can’t explain why I continued. I was stupid, and it was wrong to come to Switzerland in the first place.”
The man’s lawyer said his client “had the unfortunate fate of encountering young boys who wanted to take the law into their own hands.”
He was sentenced to a ten-month suspended prison sentence, two years’ probation and a five-year ban from entering Switzerland.
The case is currently being investigated by the Children’s Court and criminal proceedings have also been initiated against the teenagers involved, who are technically adults.
