‘Paedophile hunter’ jailed after gun threat
Manwarnedhe’dshootfellowvigilantesafteraccusations
A paedophile hunter threatened to shoot fellow vigilantes after he was accused of being involved in child abuse.
An angry crowd had gathered outside Craig Fitzpatrick’s Hamilton home when allegations against him were made on Facebook.
He was later seen on a video call brandishing a gun and warning: “The war is just beginning.”
Fitzpatrick, 26, was jailed for a year at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
He admitted having an imitation firearm with intent to cause Jodie Mccrae to believe that violence would be used against others.
Fitzpatrick also admitted threatening or abusive behaviour at his home in Fleming Way.
Louise Beattie, prosecuting, said that Fitzpatrick had been a member of the vigilante group Maximum Exposure UK for several years.
She told the court: “He was removed from the group In December last year after it was alleged that he had been threatening people targeted by them.
“In January a photograph of the accused was posted on a Facebook page. It stated that he was a paedophile and gave his address.
“A few nights later a crowd gathered outside his house, shouting at him, and the police had to attend.”
Ms Beattie said Jodie Mccrae, a member of the Maximum Exposure group, was at home on February 24 when she was invited to join a Facebook video call.
The fiscal added: “She saw the accused on the call.
“He was talking about Maximum Exposure and how ‘the war is just beginning’.
“He said that he was going to take Maximum Exposure down.
“The accused then picked up what appeared to be a black gun.
“Ms Mccrae asked if it was a BB gun. Fitzpatrick said that it wasn’t and showed her what she thought looked like gold bullets with pointed ends.
“He put the bullets in the gun and said ‘Bang, bang’.
“Ms Mccrae told him there was no need for this, but the accused said there ‘f ****** was’.
“The accused seemed to be angry and she felt scared.
“He said that he was going to shoot Emma Quinn in the head and Scott Ewen in the kneecaps.
“Ms Mccrae was alarmed and left the call.”
She then phoned Ms Quinn and showed her a screenshot of Fitzpatrick with the gun.
Mr Ewen joined another video call later that evening when Fitzpatrick warned him that he was a “dead man”.
Fitzpatrick picked up the gun again and it made “clicking noises” as he pressed the trigger.
The police were alerted and Fitzpatrick led them to woods in Hamilton where he had dumped what turned out to be a BB gun along with a tub of pellets.
Defence solicitor Ian Scott said that Fitzpatrick had been “quite proud” of his work with the vigilante group, but that there was a fall out over a missing computer hard drive.
Mr Scott told the court: “He was devoting his spare time to what he thought was a good cause, then he himself was denounced. Persons who meant him harm were sent to his house and this was his reaction.”
Sheriff Douglas Brown jailed Fitzpatrick for a year, reduced from 16 months because of his guilty pleas.
He told the accused: “This must have been a frightening experience for those involved and I consider only a prison sentence is appropriate.”
This must have been a frightening experience for those involved and I consider only prison appropriate