Vernon man to appear in court Jan. 21 on charge of child luring

Photo: Jon Manchester

A Vernon man will appear in local court Jan. 21 on charges of child luring.

David Gilbert Warnock is charged with telecommunication to lure a child under 16.

The offence is alleged to have occurred Sept. 23, 2020.

Warnock was the target of a Goofbusters investigation last year.

In a video posted to the Goofbusters page in September, two men can be heard confronting a man in a Nissan compact car, alleged to be Warnock, who was allegedly attempting to meet up with a 14-year-old boy in Vernon. 

The vigilante group sprung up on Facebook last year, seeking to publicly shame pedophiles.

Such groups, including Creep Hunters and others, walk a fine line between public service and the law.

Judge Justice Daneliuk, who sentenced a former Kamloops sheriff for sending sexually explicit messages to a person who claimed she was 14 years old, said in 2018 such vigilante groups are “dangerous to citizens and interfere with the administration of justice.”

Court records show after his arrest, Warnock was released on conditions including he stay away from parks, pools, schools and other places that minors may be present.

According to Goofbusters, Warnock turned himself in to police after the video was posted to Facebook.