North East 'paedophile hunters' first to face prison sentences

James Moss, left, had not been in trouble before but Sam Miller has previous convictions for impersonating a police officer

Two "paedophile hunters" have become the first in the UK to receive prison sentences for their vigilantism.

Sam Miller, from County Durham, and James Moss, from Northumberland, forced a father to the ground and "berated and humiliated" him live on the internet.

Wrongly believing he was a convicted rapist, they shone a torch in his eyes and accused him of sexting a child.

Miller was jailed for nine months, with Moss sentenced to six months suspended for 18 months, for false imprisonment.

Newcastle Crown Court heard "publicity and grandstanding, not the detection of offenders" was their motivation.

Judge Julie Clemitson told Miller, 29, he had an "inflated sense" of his own importance and overestimated his legal knowledge.

"You took the law into your own hands and you exceeded any lawful authority you had to conduct a citizen's arrest," she said.

She added that he had an "unhealthy obsession with sex offenders" and the desire to punish them.

The court was told Miller and Moss were part of the group Child Online Safety Team (COST), whose videos can attract more than 1,000 viewers.

Prosecutor Gavin Doig said streaming what they did live, and telling the man a large number of people were watching, "increased the impact and the trauma suffered".

'Facebook likes'

The man described what had happened as "cyber bullying" and said he was left with suicidal thoughts and had to wear a scarf or mask in public.

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."

Judge Clemitson said she accepted the pair "genuinely believed" the man was a sex offender but, rather than working with police, the group wanted the "glory" of catching him themselves.

During their trial Mr Doig said they were more concerned with "Facebook likes" and "acting as pretend policemen" than upholding the law.

The court heard that, in February 2020, Miller's target had communicated with a online decoy profile he was running.

The man had not committed an offence during the conversation but the pair went to his house that night regardless.

It was only after the man had been put on the ground and interrogated in a 14-minute live stream that they called police.

The man was questioned by officers and held in custody for 17 hours before he was released without charge, the court heard.

Northumbria Police urged people not to take the law into their owns hands

Miller, of Hutton Court, Annfield Plain, and Moss, of Laburnum Avenue, Blyth, insisted they wanted to protect the public but were convicted of false imprisonment in April.

On Friday, Miller was jailed for nine months.

Moss, 58, who the court heard had a "security" role in the vigilante organisation, was sentenced to six months in jail suspended for 18 months, with a three-month curfew.

Moss had not been in trouble before but Miller has previous convictions for impersonating a police officer, violent disorder and witness intimidation.

He set up COST in 2018 and appeared to be its "self-appointed leader", the prosecution said.

In April 2020, North Yorkshire Police advised him to stop his activities because inviting alleged paedophiles to public places created a risk, could hinder police investigations and could result in him falling foul of the law himself, but the court heard he appeared to ignore this.

'Valuable lesson'

Det Sgt Simon Wardle, of Northumbria Police, said it was "essential" the correct procedures were followed.

"We cannot have people taking the law in to their own hands, for whatever reason," he said.

"We would encourage anyone who has any information about child sexual exploitation to come forward and share this with the police so we can take action."

Gordon Carse, defending Miller, said he "believed what he did was right" and was no longer part of COST.

Peter Eguae, defending Moss, told the court he had learned a "sad, long and valuable lesson" and would not "be a vigilante" again.