31 January 2024 , 08:48
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An investigation has been launched after an innocent man was arrested at Asda by a group of so-called paedophile hunters.
Michael Chapman, 39, had been sending vile sexualised messages to five social media accounts, which he believed were being operated by teenage girls. When he suggested an Asda store in Salford as a potential meeting place, several members of the unnamed vigilante group attended and one picked out a man she believed was Chapman, the Manchester Evening News has reported. Despite that man being entirely unconnected and innocent, he was arrested after the member of the group "completely misidentified" him.
Judge Sarah Johnston at Manchester Crown Court said she was not "ascribing blame" over the innocent man's arrest, but wanted to know whether an investigation has already been carried out by police, and urged a probe to be launched if not. She said: "It seems to me to be a situation which is going to arise again if steps are not taken to ensure that these cases are investigated properly by those who are responsible for such investigations."
Prosecutors told how Chapman had been messaging the five accounts on social media sites over six weeks, between November 2020 and January 2021. The users told him that they were 13 or 14-year-old girls. During the chats, he sent videos of himself masturbating and engaged in disgusting messaging with the 'girls'. In the conversations, the idea of meeting up was raised. Chapman suggested a location as being an Asda store in Eccles.
Michael Chapman, from Salford, received a suspended sentence after being stung as part of a paedophile hunter case (Manchester Evening News)Members of the paedophile hunter group attended the shop on December 19, 2021, where one of them "completely misidentified" him and picked out an innocent man. Chapman was only summonsed to court in September last year after an analysis of his phone was not deemed to be "high priority", the court heard. He pleaded guilty to five counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, three counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
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Defending, Ellen Shaw said Chapman had no previous convictions and had not committed any further offences following the delays which were not his fault. Chapman was sentenced to two years, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also told he must carry out a sexual offences program, which the judge said was "the surest way of ensuring that conduct is not repeated."