A Japanese exchange student has appeared in Perth court after allegedly sending a series of sexualised text messages on Snapchat and then going to meet, what he believed to be, a fourteen year old boy.
Two juvenile were behind the account he was interacting with, but they were a vigilante operation that filmed their interaction with him and uploaded to it to social media app TikTok.
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, 31, of Riverton will remain in custody after he appeared in a Perth court, the details reported by The West Australian.
The man, who is reportedly an international student, allegedly sent a series of messages between September 1st and 7th, before arranging to meet at Joondalup Shopping Centre in 7th September.
When he returned to Australia on Thursday Tanaka was charged with one count of intending to procure a person believed to be under 16 years old for sexual activity. At Perth Magistrates Court on Friday the magistrate denied bail due to him being a flight risk and the evidence against him.
In a statement, WA Police said it appreciated “community assistance in reporting alleged criminal activity and information from the public is instrumental in identifying and disrupting criminal offences, but it must be done safely and lawfully”.
“WA Police strongly discourage the community from taking the law into their own hands or engaging in any behaviour that could put them at risk,” a spokesperson said.
“Police are specifically trained and equipped to respond to reports of all crime, and individuals or groups are putting themselves in harm’s way by attempting to take action against alleged offenders.”
The latest call from WA Police follows an earlier warning that was issued in September in relation to footage of possible social media vigilante activity occurring in Perth south eastern suburbs.
There has been a growing number of incidents where content creators have set up accounts as underage identities and then attempted to attract people who they believe to be pedophiles.
A case in Queensland saw three young men sentenced over a violent assault they carried out. While the young men accused their victim of inappropriate behaviour, they refused to hand their phones over to the police to substantiate their claims.
At the same time there has been an dramatic increase across Australia of cases where gay men have been targeted via dating apps and then lured to locations where they’ve been robbed and assaulted.
Professor Rob Cover from RMIT has previously spoken about the rise of people using fake dating profiles to lure people to confrontations.
“Gay-bashing has happened globally for many decades. While it has declined significantly, it has never quite gone away. Rather than stalking beats or the footpaths outside gay venues, the gay bashers of the 2020s use fake dating profiles to find their victims.
“It has long been known that some perpetrators feel less guilt if they see their victim as ‘less human’. This puts all minorities at extra risk, and it is something that may be exacerbated by the anti-minority political rhetoric used during elections and under the current United States administration.” professor Cover said in May this year.
“The risk is fairly significant because meeting someone through a dating app is most often a ‘solo’ activity, meaning a user might unwittingly be meeting an overpowering group of bashers, scammers or thieves. Those with malicious or violent intent are obviously increasingly aware of this.
“The risks won’t stop the use of dating apps and services, but there is a need for users to be careful when meeting someone they don’t know. Some general safety advice includes meeting at a public setting, exchanging phone numbers, buying your own drinks, and not rushing into anything.”
Anyone in the community who has any information in relation to a crime or criminal activity, is urged to provide the information to police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au.
