She Tried To Catch A Pervert... And Ended Up As O... -

That’s when something shifted inside her. The system, she decided, had failed. And she would not. Rachel joined online groups dedicated to catching “creepers.” She downloaded apps to map local complaints. She began riding the same train line at the same time, not to commute, but to hunt. She bought a hidden camera keychain and a voice recorder pen. She started a blog: Catch & Release? No. Catch & Expose.

When confronted about false accusations, Rachel’s response was cold: “If they have nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear.” Rachel stopped seeing friends. She was evicted from her apartment after complaints from neighbors about her “security system”—reams of printed suspect photos taped to her windows. She was fired from her design job after a coworker found her monitoring train station livestreams instead of working.

She began posting full, unblurred faces of any man she deemed suspicious—even those who hadn’t committed a crime. A man sitting alone near a playground? Posted. A teenager looking over a woman’s shoulder on a bus? Posted, labeled “potential predator.” Her followers grew from dozens to thousands. Comments turned vicious. Men lost jobs after being identified in her posts, even when police later cleared them. She tried to catch a pervert... and ended up as o...

Her mother pleaded with her to see a therapist. Rachel refused. “I’m the only one protecting women,” she said.

“I froze for a second,” she recalls. “Then I got furious.” That’s when something shifted inside her

If you or someone you know is engaging in vigilante behavior that feels out of control, mental health professionals and community mediation services can help before obsession overtakes intention.

I’m guessing the intended ending might be something like “...and ended up as one herself” , “...and ended up on the news” , or “...and ended up as the suspect” . She started a blog: Catch & Release

In other words, staring into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back. After two years of court-mandated therapy, Rachel no longer runs vigilante accounts. She lives in a small town in Oregon, works remotely as a proofreader, and has started a new private blog—this time, about recovering from obsession. Her latest post reads: