Perverted Justice (PeeJ) has 41,000 registered users of its online forums committed to the cause of stopping predators, 65 volunteers trained as chat room decoys and three salaried leaders. The group touts an average of 25 arrests a month for 2006 and is also credited with locating a 14-year-old girl who was kidnapped, raped, and tortured by a 47-year-old man she met online.



Founder Xavier Von Erck, 27, a former tech-support worker, said he got the idea for the website while watching men attempt to groom young girls in chat rooms in Oregon. PeeJ is a computer watchdog agency that works closely with law-enforcement agencies. "The media likes to use the term 'vigilante' because it gets attention, but we don't consider ourselves vigilantes. We cultivate cooperation with police and work within the law to get justice, not outside of the law."



“It’s a kind of blog that has turned into a crime- fighting resource,” said Robert McCrie, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.



The group’s association with “Dateline” has also been lucrative. Ratings for the broadcasts, a series called “To Catch a Predator” have become a network franchise, and averaged over 9 million viewers.



Perverted Justice, in collaboration with "Dateline," has brought much attention to this growing problem and should be commended for their efforts.



Web Site Hunts Pedophiles, and TV Goes Along