Grindr vigilante Ryan Naumenko pleads guilty to exposing Mildura ‘creeps’ online

A magistrate has told a man who impersonated a teenage boy in order to expose online “creeps” that being a vigilante is not a defence for breaking the law.

The Mildura Magistrates Court heard 38-year-old Ryan Victor Naumenko and others assumed the identities of teenagers on the gay dating app Grindr in February 2019.

They used the fake profiles to tell men they were 14 or 15 and then arranged to meet them, ostensibly for sexual purposes.

Naumenko and the group then set up a website and Facebook page entitled “Mildura Creep Catchers” to post the images and details of the men.

The police prosecutor told the court a total of 12 meetings had been arranged, six of which were attended.

Multiple charges

In one instance the group arranged to meet with a 54-year-old man at the Mildura water park.

They took photos of the man and his car and posted them online.

The court heard the group also traded sexual images online with two men, aged 21 and 28, before arranging to meet with them at a local high school and a Woolworths, respectively.

Images of the 21-year-old and a text message exchange with the 28-year-old were then posted online.

A fourth charge related to Naumenko posting newspaper articles and images of a registered sex offender online.

The police prosecutor told the court Naumenko controlled the website and social media pages.

Naumenko “abandoned” the pages after receiving attention from local media outlets.

‘If I had known’

At a hearing on Tuesday Naumenko told the court his intention was to protect young people.

“It was to get [the men] named and shamed online to protect the kids of Mildura,” he said.

“If I had known it was illegal, I would have reconsidered.”

Naumenko, who did not have legal representation, initially told the court he wanted to contest the charges and said he had received “a ridiculous amount of community support” for his actions.

“What I did has opened the eyes of people to be safer,” he said.

But Magistrate Michael Coghlan questioned the grounds of Naumenko’s defence.

“Being some sort of vigilante in the community, exposing paedophiles, does not discount the charges,” Magistrate Coghlan said.

“If you plead guilty … you get a discount today.

“This is the final day.”

Mr Naumenko appeared in court again on Thursday and pleaded guilty to four separate charges of using a carriage service in a manner which a reasonable person would regard as being menacing.

Four other charges of stalking were withdrawn.

The case will appear before the court again on May 10.

Magistrate Coghlan said it was important that Naumenko sought legal representation before that date.