Armed Police Snatch Man Posing as Paedo in Portsmouth Sting
A Waterlooville man was hauled in by armed cops last night outside Cosham rail station. He was caught trying to meet a fake 13-year-old girl he groomed online as part of an undercover sting.
Vigilantes Get It Wrong – False ID Chaos
The man, Kieran Maidment, 21, from Waterlooville, was mistakenly named as Billy Thorne by the self-styled paedo hunters running the operation. Their Facebook Live video boasting 76,000 views repeatedly misidentifies Maidment despite his ginger crew cut and neck tattoo, which don’t match Thorne’s blond quiff.
Maidment even admits on camera to arranging the meet with ‘Jodie’ – a fictional character created by the group Silent Justice. He also confesses to having a cocaine problem and seems dazed or slow during the confrontation.
Police Warn Against Vigilante Stings
Despite Maidment’s real identity being confirmed with his debit card after his arrest, the vigilantes stubbornly stuck to the wrong man’s name. Police issued a sharp warning against such amateur operations.
“We have significant concerns about people taking the law into their own hands,” said Chief Superintendent Thomas Richards. “Entrapment efforts like this can hinder investigations and risk falsely accusing innocent individuals. Gathering evidence is a specialist job that takes skill and time.”
Richards stressed the danger vigilante groups may pose to vulnerable people and urged the public to report online grooming directly to police. The force vowed to keep children safe and bring actual offenders to justice.
Real Billy Thorne Had Previous Sex Offence
Billy Joe Thorne, from Titchfield, was jailed with a suspended sentence in 2015 for a sex offence. Maidment seemed unaware of Thorne’s criminal past during the live video.
This bungled sting highlights the risks of online paedo hunting and the police’s pushback against vigilante justice.
