A Luton man who had been trapped by paedophile hunters was punched in the face by a member of the public as they waited for the police to arrive.
The vigilantes live-streamed their arrest of Martin Stoneman for forty-five minutes as as a crowd gathered in the street.
Prosecutor Claire Fraser told Luton Crown Court that Stoneman was in on-line contact with a fictitious 14-year-old boy called Kyle between May 10 and 16, 2021.
He had sexual conversation with the boy and sent him a picture of a penis.
He asked the boy to send him pictures, said Ms Fraser. Stoneman, 35, appeared for sentence, having pleaded guilty to attempting to engage a child in sexual communication. Defending, Tom Phillips said a member of a paedophile hunter group pretended to be a courier to obtain his address and then confronted him.
He said that, as a result of the vigilantes streaming his arrest, he lost his job at a supermarket.
Stoneman had debts of £10,000 and was on universal credit, he said.
Mr Phillips said: “He is remorseful and is willing to work with probation. “He said he suffered depression and was in a difficult place with his partner at the time.”
Judge Michael Simon said: “The paedophile hunter group obtained your address by misrepresenting themselves as a courier. They attended and live-streamed the events for 45 minutes until the police arrived.
“This is not the sort of behaviour the court is seeking to encourage or condone.”
The judge made a two year Community Order with 40 days on an offender treatment programme, 20 days rehabilitation, a 12-month mental health treatment programme and a £200 fine.
A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was made for FIVE years and Stoneman must register as a sex offender for five years.
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