For people not familiar with the term OCAGs, it stands for Online Child Abuse Activist Groups. It is a Police term to describe groups of self-styled online ‘paedo-hunters’. OCAGs use fake online profiles to entrap men they believe are seeking sexual relationships with underage girls. Men are then invited to meet the non-existent girl in a public space. These ‘stings’/confrontations are then live-streamed and/or filmed with the footage uploaded to social media.

Awareness is growing large numbers of men with learning disabilities who have been entrapped in this way. Anecdotally, it is believed that a majority of OCAG targets have learning disabilities. Most of these men had no idea what was going on, having mis-read signals, and often genuinely believing that they had just made a new friend and have absolutely no paedophilic intent.

Numerous miscarriages of justice appear to be taking place. Service providers have seen the lives of supported people being destroyed (once they have been tarred with the ‘paedo’ brush), as well as that of their families. Some have seen shared accommodation, people’s housemates and staff being targeted by follow-up action once pictures of the target’s home have been published on social media.

This webinar will draw on lived experience, insights from the Police and two years of informal research. It will cover:

1. OCAGs – what are they? How do they operate?

2. Police perspective

3. What a sting looks like and its impact

4. What the law says

5. Reacting to a sting

6. Making entrapment less likely (internet safety)

The webinar will be presented by two members of the OCAGs & Learning Disabilities informal research team.

TRIGGER WARNING: the webinar will include a filmed interview with a learning disabled man who was stung by an OCAG and film of an actual OCAG sting. These videos are extremely upsetting and may be triggering for some people. Please bear this in mind when booking a place.

Online entrapment of men with learning disabilities by ‘paedophile hunters'