Paedophile hunters have been slammed in court for the way they trapped and publicly shamed a Lancashire man with learning difficulties.
A judge at Preston heard Jack Winstanley, who was said to have a mental age of between nine and 12, was confronted and filmed on the doorstep of his parents’ home by a group of online vigilantes. They accused him of attempting to have sexual communication with a 12-year-old girl and uploaded a video of their “sting” on the internet.
The prosecution conceded there were “a great deal of mitigating factors” including his difficulties and the fact that the girl was not a real victim. Winstanley sat in the dock with his head bowed throughout the hearing. His parents were in court to support him. Miss Watson told the judge that a community nurse specialising in learning difficulties, who had been supporting the family for the past six months, was also in the public gallery.
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