A Lincolnshire man who launched a “misguided” online video campaign to stop men meeting for sex in a public wood popular with families has been given a suspended sentence.
Colin Haw, a father-of-two, said he had complained to the police about the men’s activities but had been ignored.
He decided to take a group of men to the wood dressed in balaclavas and carrying video cameras to film the meetings in the hope of shaming the culprits.
He admitted to a public order offence after one man who was filmed in June found the footage online and called the police.
Mr Haw was sentenced at Boston Magistrates’ Court to four months in prison, suspended for a year and a half, and was given 200 hours community service.
Chairman of the bench Pat Walsh told Mr Haw: “Your actions were premeditated and quite deliberate in targeting a group of people we would describe as vulnerable.
“Our thoughts were to send you to custody but we are not going to do that today.”
Defending Mr Haw, Liz Harte said his actions were a “misguided enterprise” but insisted that he thought he was doing “the right thing”.
“The thinking was that he was a protector of morals and a guardian of children”.
Public decency laws currently make it illegal to engage in sexual activity in public toilets, parks, or other public places. The laws apply equally to same-sex and heterosexual couples.
Deputy Chief Constable Michael Cunningham drafted guidance last year telling officers to turn a blind eye to people using public places for sex.
Officers should balance the law with the “human rights of those people who frequent open spaces for the purposes of having sexual relationships with other like-minded people”, the guidance said.
After receiving his sentence, Mr Haw commented: “We didn’t go in there to cause people harm. We reported it on several occasions to the police. We tried to name and shame them but we didn’t have any intention of causing them distress. We didn’t put up any pornographic material.
“In our videos in Boston we have also brought attention to all the rubbish and the drug users who have thrown their syringes on the floor.
“We were not out to cause any trouble. The police wanted it covered up.
“I’ve got nothing against homosexual people but what gives them the authority to do it in public?”