A 61-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communications with a child after being challenged on his doorstep by an online community group.
Souloceptors, a group said to be ‘helping to stop child exploitation’, confronted the man, originally from Wisbech, at Robingoodfellows Lane in March.
With almost 30,000 followers, thousands of people tuned in as representatives from the Facebook group approached the now March man.
As they question the man, a member of the group contacts Cambridgeshire Police before they arrive and the video is stopped.
Another video posted to the Souloceptors page shows the man being placed into the back of the police van before being taken away for questioning.
A police spokesperson said: “A 61-year-old man from March was arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communications with a child.
“He has since been released under investigation.”
The Facebook ‘vigilantes’ who confronted the man told him the being recorded “for your safety and my safety”.
The man denies being involved in any sexual chatrooms that involved children.
Repeatedly they are heard pressing him whether he felt it “acceptable to be chatting with two 12-year-old kids?”
The Facebook group members are seen cautioning the man about going back inside his home, threatening to tell neighbours what is going on.
They tell him they don’t want him deleting images and messages from his mobile phone ahead of the police arriving.
The video captures the moment police, with sirens, arrive at the house.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here