Paedophile hunter had finger bitten off by sex offender after online sting
A paedophile hunter had his finger bitten off by a sex offender when he tried to restrain him after an online sting operation.
Grandfather Steve Little, 60, from Fazakerley, Liverpool, was working with vigilante group Catching Online Predators when the little finger on his left hand was bitten off by Thomas Jean De-Castle-Lynne.
De-Castle-Lynne, 46, thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl, but was instead confronted by members of the group at Stevenage railway station last April.
In the ensuing struggle, Mr Little’s finger was bitten off, and although doctors reattached it, it was later amputated when the wound became infected.
In December, De-Castle-Lynne, from Parsons Green, Hammersmith, was sentenced to 10 years in prison – nine for wounding with intent; one year for grooming a child under 16 for sexual activity; two months for racially aggravated harm and two weeks for common assault. He is also on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Mr Little, a retired nurse, said: “A colleague and I had been posing up as a 14-year-old girl online who agreed to meet Thomas Jean De-Castle-Lynne.
“He wanted to meet at a train station and thought the girl was coming alone, he had no idea it would be a group of us.
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“The messages he sent were disgusting, and I was passionate about bringing him to justice.
“But once he realised, he completely lost the plot – he ended up punching the woman filming in the face, which is when the team and I tackled him to the ground.
“It wasn’t until it was too late that I noticed my finger was in his mouth.
“There was my blood all in his mouth but he didn’t let go – the pain was excruciating as he clamped down on my little finger. It was torn straight off and was hanging by just a small amount of flesh.”
The incident was Mr Little’s first and last time working with Catching Online Predators.
A medical team at Stevenage Hospital managed to staple his finger back into place but a few days later he noticed the flesh was starting to rot. The finger was later amputated.
He said: “I can’t describe how bad the pain was – my finger was just there, dangling in the wind.
“I was a nurse for 18 years, so I knew things weren’t looking good. But I’d happily do it again to stop men like him roaming out streets.
“I may have lost my finger, but someone else may have lost a child, so that gives me comfort.”
De-Castle-Lynne was discovered online after he contacted a false decoy account set up by Catching Online Predators. A meeting at the train station was then set up.
Mr Little recalled the jury watching video footage of his graphic injury.
“I remember watching their faces and some even put their hands over their mouths in horror whilst he De-Castle-Lynne never flinched whilst he watched them,” said Mr Little.
“I stopped and stared at him on my way out to let him know I wasn’t scared of him.
“I couldn’t go back to helping Catching Online Predators after my injury as I was too traumatised but I’m happy he’s behind bars.”
