Essentially who cares? It's just another level of the witch hunt. But it does seem interesting that a vigilante (oh yeah) was using it as an excuse to get thrills. He shares many characteristics and behaviour patterns with Carl Beech. And all the other, better hidden, false accusers like those making money from Michael Jackson, Jimmy Savile, Kelly, Weinstein, Spacey, Cliff, Gambo...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-49196335

Anyone other than the authorities calling themselves Paedophile hunters should be looked into very very swiftly you only have to look around with the likes of Stinson Hunter the fire starter twisted fire starter.
Obviously an ex cop must of been getting his kicks from it but moved on to pastures new when the heat was turned up and he has admitted himself he viewed images, oh I forgot. For research purposes only of course.

The only way we know if he's guilty of what he's accused of is by examining the data and evidence.

The trouble is, the law about possession is badly formulated and unclear. IT matters are also not well understood generally. When these two aspects combine, we get poor results. Jurors don't properly grasp the computer evidence and how it fits with the laws. Lawyers might understand the legislation, but IT knowledge lets them down.

I also wonder about the nature of the material he was convicted of possessing. It might depict deeds that are perfectly legal where they were produced (age of consent in the Philippines is 12). If so, the main rationale for prosecuting him - protection of children from sexual abuse - disappears because there's no child and no sexual abuse. We're then left with expression of moral disapproval for his tastes, which is a pretty weak reason to imprison a man for a long time, I think.

Yes the infantilisation of our species and the superficiality of modern society makes it easy to take a simple universal desire - to protect children - and bend it into a weapon to get outrage and righteous indignation which then needs victims, which then leads to people being unjustly and unfairly jailed or killed. We shall reap the consequences. Karma is coming.