The man, who was in his 70s, died four days after members of an online anti-paedophile vigilante group went to his home to confront over a string operation it had run against him
05:00, 12 Jul 2026Updated 08:30, 12 Jul 2026
The man was pronounced dead at the scene in Co Leitrim on Monday and his body taken to the mortuary at Sligo University Hospital – stock photo
A pensioner has taken his own life – days after being confronted by members of an online anti-paedophile vigilante group.
The Irish Mirror has learned that the man, who was in his 70s, died by suicide at his home in Co Leitrim on Monday.
He died four days after members of the vigilante group went to his property in the area to confront over a string operation it had run against him.
The man refused to come out of his house to talk to the men – who later said they contacted gardai and made a statement about him.
Gardai told us they were aware of the incident.
The group alleged the man had been making sexualised comments online to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl – but was actually an undercover decoy who was part of the vigilante group.
The group alleged on a Facebook page that the man immediately started making sexualised comments when he was chatting online with the decoy – including talking about the size of his penis and asking if she wore matching underwear.
“This man is a wild piece of work,” one of the operatives said on a Facebook video about the man.
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He also said the man urged the decoy to delete the messages they exchanged – and added that he was very interested in the supposed child’s mother.
He added: “He also went to on to say he would love to kiss her and be her first.
“He kept saying to her ‘you’re very young and a very pretty young girl’.
“This child is 13 years of age – this man is 70 years of age.
“He wanted to be her friend, I don’t know what he would have in common with a child.
“He also said to the child that if he got caught he could go to jail and he would be known as a pervert.”
The man added: “From get go he knew what he was doing.”
The outfit is one of a number of online paedophile hunter groups that go undercover to snare men who have a sexual interest in children.
The decoys who pretend to be kids always stress to the man that they are underage – and never make the first approach.
The groups usually conduct text conversations with men who repeatedly make sexualised comments to what they believe is a child – and often try to meet the kids to sexually abuse them.
Dozens of men in Ireland and Britain have been caught by the undercover volunteers – who pass on all the evidence they gather to law enforcement.
That has led to several high profile convictions, including the RTE producer Kieran Creaven.
Kieran Creaven
Creaven, 64, was caged for 18 months in Leeds, England, after he was caught in such a sting.
He travelled to the city as he thought he was going to meet a 13-year-old child he could sexually abuse.
But the child turned out to be a decoy – and Creaven was charged and convicted in the United Kingdom. He was later jailed for 10 years in Ireland for sick sex offences against a young girl in the Philippines.
Gardai told us in a statement that it was called to a domestic residence in Leitrim on Monday.
The force said: “A male, aged in his 70s, was pronounced deceased at the scene and his body taken to the mortuary at Sligo University Hospital.
“The local Coroner has been informed.”
The force separately said it was aware of an incident that occurred at a property in Leitrim on July 2.
That was the night when the paedophile hunters approached the man at his home.
The force stressed it was its job to investigate crime in Ireland – nobody else’s.
A Garda spokesman told us: “Gardaí are aware of an incident that occurred at a residential premises in Co Leitrim on 2nd July 2026.
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“It is An Garda Síochána’s role to investigate crime and enforce enacted legislation. Every citizen has a constitutional right to innocence until proven guilty and be subject to a human rights based criminal investigation.
“The safety of children is a priority at all times for An Garda Síochána and An Garda Síochána uses all lawful means to fully investigate and prosecute crimes which jeopardise the safety of a child.”
The spokesman added: “The actions by ‘private’ groups are a cause of concern for An Garda Síochána and for other police services.
“The activity engaged in and the manner of confrontation between such groups and their targets has the potential for violence and could result in harm to persons present. “There are concerns over the legality of the actions and the manner in which such groups operate, and how they interact with their chosen targets prior to and during the arranged meeting has the potential to affect future criminal proceedings.
“An Garda Síochána would urge anyone with information relating to the potential sexual exploitation of children to report it immediately to An Garda Síochána where it will be investigated by professional investigators.”
We approached the paedophile hunter group for comment.
It told us: ”We don’t make any statements to the media.”
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