Vigilante teens use dating apps to lure paedophiles into ambushes

A group of vigilante teenagers took the law into their own hands and used dating apps to lure paedophiles into violent ambushes after police ignored their complaints about a schoolgirl pal who was being groomed. 

The schoolchildren, aged between 13 and 18, from Lugano in Switzerland were themselves apprehended by police earlier this month.

They were held on charges including grievous bodily harm, assault, coercion, robbery, false imprisonment, and extortion.

The elaborate scheme was the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy who hatched a plan to use dating apps, such as Tinder, to track down adults who were 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 was sending her nude pictures. 

Conversations between the two were even shared with no result, so the children came up with their own solution.

After chatting to the adults on dating apps, plans would be made over Whatsapp or Instagram to meet in-person at parks or even in flats across the Swiss city.

Once there, the unsuspecting targets walked straight into the group's carefully laid trap.

The alleged paedophiles 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 teens would converge on the scene, kicking and punching the individual while simultaneously urinating on them, spitting at them, or shaving off their 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 interviewed by police, one of the teens 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.'

Emphasising that they knew they were breaking the law, the boy continued: 'We know that what we did was beyond legal. But we wanted to send a message.'

The scheme was exposed following the conviction of a 49-year-old Italian on October 3 after they brutally beat him in the Besso area of Lugano.

In court, the man claimed he had joined the dating app in search of his 'soul mate,' but then admitted to becoming infatuated with an underage boy.

He said: 'He told me he was 14 years old and from that moment on I started making mistakes.

'I can't explain why I kept going. 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 justice into their own hands.'

He was sentenced to a 10-month suspended prison term, two years of probation, and a five-year ban from entering Switzerland.

The case is currently under investigation by the juvenile court, and criminal proceedings have also been initiated against the teenagers involved who are technically adults.