Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

he head of the Surrey Creep
Catchers was arrested for
assault following a sting operation
headed by the controversial vigilante
group on April 3, according toa
post on their Facebook page.

Ryan Laforge, who has had two
defamation claims against him this year,
was taken in when he called the police
to pick up his “citizen’s arrest” on an
unidentified man accused of attempting
to solicit sex from a six-year-old. The event
was captured on film in an “unidentified
mall,” according to the Vancouver Sun,
and showed Laforge confronting the

man and holding him against a wall.

The RCMP denied that they had
specifically arrested Laforge for his alleged
actions, but stated that they had arrested
an unidentified man, according to CTV.

“Well, we citizen’s arrested him.

I got arrested and charged... but it
was worth it,” said Laforge to CTV.

The group has raised questions
about the role of citizens acting outside
the law, and the role social media
plays in mob justice. The larger Creep
Catchers organization has been mired
in controversy since they first formed in
Mississauga in 2014, and after opening
chapters across Canada. Earlier this
year, two Creep Catchers-affiliated
individuals from Langley and White

 

 

Rock confronted a man after posing as
a 14-year-old and being invited to his
place of work. The man turned out to
be developmentally delayed, and there
was no evidence of any sexual intent.

Two civil suits against Laforge
and the Surrey Creep Catchers are
ongoing, and add to the controversy
surrounding the group.

One claimant alleged that he
was targeted by Creep Catchers after
criticizing their organization on a
Facebook video and was wrongly
identified as a pedophile, highlighting
the risks involved with a group
administering justice outside the law.

The RCMP took Laforge’s arrest as
an opportunity to restate their strong

Photo by Lasia Kretzel via news1130.com

opposition to vigilante groups.
“Vigilantism is a risk to all those

involved, including victims, or potential

victims, and/or the safety of those persons

intent on broadcasting the suspected

crime,” said a spokesperson for the Surrey

RCMP ina statement to Global News.

Police departments across the country

have repeated this opposition, particularly

as social media allows for a more global

and volatile form of vigilante justice.
Shortly after his arrest, Laforge

was released with no charges raised.

He claimed in a Facebook post that he

was released on bail, but police say he

was released “on a promise to appear”

in court at a later date, and have not

released further information on the case.