Vigilante operation catches second B.C. man now facing sex charges
VICTORIA — A growing trend of vigilante stings has resulted in charges against a former deputy sheriff in British Columbia just days after a Mountie faced similar allegations.
The B.C. Criminal Justice Branch announced Tuesday that Kevin Johnston, who worked in Kamloops, has been charged with three counts of communicating with an underage person for a sexual offence and one count of invitation to sexual touching.
An unnamed RCMP officer in Surrey was arrested last week and is being investigated for child luring and sexual exploitation after the vigilante group Creep Catchers released video that it claimed was a confrontation with a man who thought he was meeting an underage girl.
Justice branch spokesman Dan McLaughlin confirmed that both men came to the attention of police through separate vigilante groups in the province.