Criminal Law

Warning: This content contains references to child sexual abuse and suicide. If you need support, contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

A24’s Primetime was recently released in Australian cinemas following its release in the United States. The film is based on To Catch a Predator, a series that first aired as part of Dateline NBC in 2004.

Dateline NBC is a weekly television newsmagazine focused on true crime, investigative journalism, and current affairs. Its To Catch a Predator segments typically involved the production team working with Perverted-Justice, a private investigations and activist organisation whose volunteers would pose as minors in online chatrooms.

The decoy would arrange to meet an alleged offender at an address, and when the adult arrived, journalist Chris Hansen and the NBC production crew would intervene.

The first sting was filmed in New York without the direct involvement of law enforcement. Over two and a half days, 18 men arrived at the address.

The format later evolved, with police running a concurrent investigation and waiting outside the house. After Hansen interviewed the alleged offender, police would make an arrest, usually on a charge of online solicitation. Together with Perverted-Justice, the program conducted 12 stings across the United States.

The program ended about a year after a Texas prosecutor died by suicide during an attempted arrest connected to a To Catch a Predator investigation. Some commentators have argued the incident contributed to the program’s end, while Hansen has maintained the show had simply run its course.

Hansen has expressed concerns about how his show is depicted in Primetime, telling Fox News the film is “so bizarre and so in-and-out of reality”.

The real risks

The online sexual abuse of children is a problem that extends far beyond a film or television series.

The eSafety Commissioner reports that more than one in four girls (26.3 per cent) and 7.6 per cent of boys have experienced online sexual solicitation by an adult. In 86.7 per cent of these cases, the adult was unknown to the child.

Child grooming occurs when an abuser builds trust with a minor to make them more likely to respond to requests that may cause sexual harm. When this occurs online, it is often referred to as online grooming or online sexual solicitation. Online sexual solicitation can occur as part of a broader grooming process, although the terms are not synonymous. Abusers may make sexual requests online or attempt to arrange to meet the child in person, including through platforms popular with children such as online games.

Children may also be blackmailed or threatened into sharing sexual content, known as sexual extortion or “sextortion”. Abusers may use blackmail or threats to force a child to send more content, while some scammers use sextortion for financial gain.

Young men are disproportionately targeted, making up 85 per cent of sextortion complaints to the eSafety Commissioner in the first half of 2026.

Is vigilantism a problem?

Outrage over online sexual solicitation, child abuse, and grooming has likely contributed to vigilantism. The strong emotions associated with the abuse of children can drive people to take matters into their own hands.

However, vigilantism carries its own range of legal risks.

While circumstances vary, online grooming laws allow prosecutions to succeed even where the “child” is not a real person under 16, but a decoy such as a police officer. These police operations are controlled and authorised, with legal oversight and strong safeguards in place.

Vigilantes do not operate under the same safeguards, and they lack both authorisation and law enforcement’s evidence-gathering training. This issue arose during To Catch a Predator itself.

After a sting in Murphy, Texas, the District Attorney declined to prosecute any of the men caught by the program. In some cases, the men were outside his jurisdiction. In others, the reliability of the chat logs and other aspects of the operation were affected by the involvement of people outside law enforcement. It was the first time in nine stings over 18 months that prosecutors did not pursue charges.

Legal risks for vigilantes in Australia

Australian law can also expose vigilantes to criminal liability.

Under section 474.17 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence is a federal offence carrying a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. This includes using devices and social media to send messages that a reasonable person would consider menacing, harassing, or offensive, regardless of whether the recipient felt threatened.

In NSW, section 13 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) makes it an offence to stalk or intimidate another person with the intention of causing them to fear mental or physical harm. The victim does not need to have actually felt fear, as the intention to cause fear is sufficient.

Laws criminalising covert stalking have also recently passed NSW Parliament, and will commence on proclamation. Covert stalking involves stalking a person who is unaware of it at the time. The offence is assessed objectively, by asking whether a reasonable person would consider the conduct likely to cause fear of mental or physical harm if the victim found out.

The legislation also makes it an offence to direct a third party to stalk on your own or someone else’s behalf, which could have consequences for private investigators.

Vigilantes may also face civil and criminal liability beyond these laws. Publishing a sting video that identifies someone can expose the publisher to defamation claims, particularly where the person is misidentified. Physically detaining a target can amount to false imprisonment or assault, and publishing someone’s personal details to harass them can be a doxxing offence under the Criminal Code, alongside potential claims under the new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy.

Limiting harm

Given the legal risks of vigilantism, several recent and proposed changes aim to reduce online solicitation harms before they occur.

In April 2026, Stop It Now! Australia launched as a federally funded, nationwide service following a pilot program. It is a service where people concerned about their own, or someone else’s, thoughts or behaviour towards children can seek support. The service aims to stop thoughts becoming actions, and responds to a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Stop It Now! Australia is anonymous, although mandatory reporting obligations still apply where relevant.

A proposed reform aimed at combating online harm is the Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026. If passed, the bill would introduce a digital duty of care to protect Australians from serious online harm, placing an overarching obligation on service providers to provide safe online environments. Providers would also be required to regularly assess the risk of harm posed by their services and features, and take proactive steps to embed safety by design and prevent harm to users. In theory, the duty would encourage platforms to reduce the risk of child solicitation on their services.

However, some organisations have raised concerns about the bill. In its submission, the Free Speech Union of Australia warned that the draft wording could create a defence allowing individuals to possess abuse material if they prove their conduct was in “good faith” and for the “sole purpose of developing or updating content-filtering technology”.

Other organisations, such as headspace and Teach Us Consent, have welcomed the duty.

Where to next?

Primetime has renewed public attention on online sexual solicitation, grooming, and the controversial role of vigilante-style sting operations. While the film draws on To Catch a Predator, the issues it raises remain real and ongoing.

Frustration with online offending may lead some people to take matters into their own hands, but vigilantism carries significant legal risks. Vigilante operations can compromise evidence, jeopardise prosecutions, and expose participants to legal liability. Suspected online grooming is best addressed through established reporting channels and law enforcement agencies, which have the powers and resources to investigate.

At the same time, initiatives such as Stop It Now! Australia and proposed online safety reforms reflect a broader effort to prevent harm in digital environments before it occurs. As online risks continue to evolve, prevention, intervention, and support will remain essential to reducing online exploitation.

If you are concerned that a child is being groomed online, report it to police or the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. If you need legal advice, whether you have been affected by abuse or are facing allegations, contact our criminal law or child sexual abuse teams confidentially below.