Dark Justice

Inside the World of Paedophile Hunters

Mark de Rond

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2025
• Topic: Business
• eBook ISBN:
  9781009457057
• Subtopic: Organisational Behaviour
• Index: Business

It is difficult to imagine a more heinous crime than the sexual abuse of children. Yet, terrifyingly, a new case of child sexual abuse is reported every seven minutes. In response to this crisis, self-appointed groups of citizens are fashioning themselves as 'paedophile hunters.' Operating outside the law, these groups use social media to bait and expose those seeking to engage children sexually, both on- and offline. Their work has been remarkably effective, but at what cost? Following four years of unprecedented access to the UK's most prolific team of paedophile hunters, Mark de Rond offers balanced and insightful answers to the perplexing question of why these groups persist in using extreme methods to hold predators to account in view of less harmful alternatives. In doing so, he invites us to consider the societal impacts of paedophile hunters on our laws and institutions, as well as societal cohesion and safety.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Reviews
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Contents
• On the Title of This Book
• Dedication
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Epilogue
• Appendix: Notes on Methodology
• When They Read What We Write
• Acknowledgements
• Notes