'Sweetie', computer-generated paedophile trap, catches 1000 offenders.
 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24818769

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...19865599-1.jpg

This seems a bit crazy to me... inventing a child to be targeted seems quite sick in itself. And is propositioning a computer-generated child technically a crime?

^ You could argue that preventative measures like this are far better than waiting for actual crimes involving young children to happen though

Also, isn't it a done thing already for Police officers to go under cover as children to catch online pedophiles out?

The whole thing screams thoughtcrime to me - although it's difficult because obviously the men caught were under the impression she was real (but then again, this is an assumption).

The sheer volume of men they caught out though is scary

Yes Married Men with kids
- As well

I hope they
do many more of these Stings

Yeah, I think it's a great idea. Prevention is surely better than the alternative

You have to take into consideration this may not be the first time they have sought out this material.
If following investigation it's found it was an isolated incident then that's slightly less unsavoury than the alternative?
Compared to the size of the US and India the amount of Britons is unbelievable :/

Yes the way they went like Sharks
to sweetie aged 10
so young.


Shocking

Yeah, I don't think the fact that the child isn't real matters.

These men sought out child pornography, one way or another, so I'd say yes they still committed a crime.

People are arrested for just possessing images, not just communicating/propositioning children.

Also, it says they didn't solicit anything until actually asked by these men so I don't think it's classed as entrapment of any kind.

..it's scary the percentage from the UK, so how does it work then, can charges be made on this..?..

Harrowing figures but I doubt any evidence from this would be admissible in court which makes the whole thing a giant waste of time. The only people I can see benefiting from this are the peadophiles that will take more care in how they operate due to this thus potentially making them harder to catch.

I can see this doing more harm than good, good intentions but bad execution.

I don't think they would organise such a sophisticated operation for fun.

..in theory, it's a good idea to trace paedophiles, but are they actually going to be able to make arrests through this..what practical purpose is the research going to have...is it not an 'entrapment' situation, legally...

You would hope that the men would atleast be investigated anyway, If they've pursued this one child, chances are they have other stuff on their computers that could actually be used by the police

..yeah, I agree, and laws vary in different countries, but would an investigation be possible with this 'evidence' as it seems a little 'grey' s the 'victim' isn't an actual person at all....it'll be interesting to see if it can lead to investigations or not...

I think for crimes like pedophilia and more especially pedophilia online, this could be a great way of policing the internet and protecting children against it. They need to do something anyway, that's for sure, especially with figures like that

It was obviously for publicity which they'll get but it will likely end up damaging their cause.

..yeah, it'll be interesting what they're able to do once someone is 'identified' through this..whether that will mean the police can check their computer activities etc because it's unlikely to be a 'one off', so real victims would probably be found and if they can prosecute, then it would be a real step forward, like you say..it's so scary how prevalent online predators are..I'm just not convinced that the 'information' will be able to be acted on..I hope it is, though...

CEOP and other organisations hace been infiltrating chat rooms like this since around 2006 with 'virtual lolitas'
The net is closing, good.

It's quite weird as they use a Child do it

It's not a real child

I know that but it's still weird

It's probably impossible to catch a paedophile by using an adult.

But how else would they catch a pedophile? :laugh:

..I think that Sam means that it feel sinister in itself using a '10 yr old called Sweetie'...I do see what you mean, Sam but that is the reality of paedophilia and online grooming though, it is sinister/dark...

It just stands to reason that if increasing amounts of offenders are using the internet to commit crime, the internet is used to catch them?

..I don't think anyone is questioning that, just whether it will be effective for legal reasons or not..

Why would they do it if it wasn't? That would be totally illogical.

Watch Ch4News 7PM

Well, it was an activist group that did this not the police, this is some of what they said :

The rights group said they used the same procedures as the police.

"But OK, we are not prosecutors, we are not judges, it will be for them to decide what to do with the elements we gave them," Mr Guyt said.

- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news....ljkv8RUP.dpuf

..it's onl research by a charity though to see what would happen, which obviously had results because of the profile used...things are researched every day, many things...sometimes nothing comes of that research, only findings/statistics..which in this case they're handed over to the police but that doesn't mean that any arrests etc will be able to be made through it...

..yeah, I will Arista, it'll be interesting to see if this can be used to help prosecute paedophiles....

I think it's a good idea,,anything that helps catch these dirty beggars all helps.

So yes the police are using these procedures, there is no reason then to think they wouldn't use this then is there?
As it isn't the police that has done this then there is no entrapment.... They would just act on information given as usual I would think.

This whole thing stinks in my view......... whats the difference between doing this and leaving a heap of money in an open car ?? They're both forms of Entrapment whereby you are setting out to lure people into engaging in criminal acts.

I accept theft and paedophilia are not the same but the principle is and in my view this verges on the illegal.

protection need's to come from parents, after all, a ten year old should not be in a chat room.
but if other cultures allow their children as young as five to marry men, what message does this send out!

Awareness, any evidence from a source like this would be considered flimsy at best in a Court of Law.