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 they were harassing.
The schoolchildren, aged between 13 and 18, from Lugano, Switzerland, were detained by police earlier this month.
They were arrested on charges including serious bodily injury, assault, coercion, robbery, false imprisonment and extortion.
The elaborate plan was the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy who came up with a plan to use dating apps, such as Tinder, to locate adults who were trying to meet minors.
It was created after local police allegedly ignored her complaints about the harassment of an underage girl by a man who sent her nude photographs.
The city of Lugano in Switzerland (file image). The elaborate plan was the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy who came up with a plan to use dating apps, such as Tinder, to locate adults throughout Lugano who were trying to meet minors.
After chatting with adults on dating apps, plans would be made via Whatsapp or Instagram to meet in person in parks or even apartments throughout the Swiss city. Once there, the unsuspecting targets walked straight into the group’s carefully placed trap.
Conversations were even shared between the two to no avail, so the children came up with their own solution.
After chatting with adults on dating apps, plans would be made via Whatsapp or Instagram to meet in person in parks or even apartments throughout the Swiss city.
Once there, the unsuspecting targets walked straight into the trap carefully laid by the group.
Suspected 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 would converge on the scene, kicking and punching the individual while simultaneously urinating on him, spitting on him, or shaving his hair.
The actions were reportedly recorded and sometimes shared with third parties. The group had even considered broadcasting the events live on social media.
When interviewed by police, one of the teenagers said: “It all started when a 35-year-old man started harassing an underage friend of mine by sending her naked photos and asking her for sex.”
“We tried to file a complaint, but they didn’t take us seriously, we even showed the chats to the officials.”
The boy emphasized that they knew they were breaking the law and continued: ‘We know that what we did was beyond what was legal. But we wanted to send a message.”
The plan was revealed after the conviction of a 49-year-old Italian man on October 3 after being brutally beaten in the Besso area of Lugano.
The plan was revealed after the conviction of a 49-year-old Italian man on October 3 after being brutally beaten in the Besso area of Lugano.
In court, the man claimed he had joined the dating app in search of his “soulmate” but later admitted to falling in love with an underage boy.
He said: ‘He told me he was 14 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 to begin with.
The man’s lawyer said his client “had the unfortunate luck of encountering young people who wanted to take the law into their own hands.”
He was sentenced to 10 months of suspended prison, two years of probation and a five-year ban on entering Switzerland.
The case is currently under investigation in juvenile court and criminal proceedings have also been initiated against the teenagers involved, who are technically of legal age.
