A SELF-PROCLAIMED “paedophile hunter” who has led SA Police to two alleged child sex predators in the past week has himself been charged with criminal offences relating to the sting operations.

The 42-year-old man, who came to public attention through online videos of him performing “citizen’s arrests” on two alleged child sex offenders, was on Friday questioned by police before being charged with four offences.

The man is now facing charges of aggravated assault, two counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and one count of publishing the identity of a person charged with a sexual offence.

media_camera The "Adelaide pedo hunter" in a video statement he posted online.

The online campaigner posted online videos of two impromptu stings on alleged paedophiles who agreed to meet with him after he posted a profile on an internet site pretending to be a teenage boy.

He did not conceal the identity of the men he targeted in the videos — state law bans the publication of the identity of people charged with a sexual offence until they either plead guilty or are committed to stand trial.

During the first sting, he at one point grabs the alleged paedophile’s shirt with his fist as he undertakes a citizen’s arrest.

The man, from Adelaide’s western suburbs, has been granted police bail and will face Adelaide Magistrates Court in February.

Following the first sting operation — reported on Advertiser.com.au last week — the vigilante said he did not “mete out my own type of punishment” and stressed he wanted police to conduct their own investigations.

However, police raised concerns about videos being posted online and the “risk these may further create to all parties involved”.

media_camera Police question the alleged paedophile (centre) who was confronted in the first sting operation.

Officer in charge of the Special Crimes Investigation Branch, Detective Superintendent Mark Wieszyk, said the “unusual” case highlighted the need for the public to allow police to do their job.

“It is not appropriate for individuals to take matters into their own hands because no matter how well-intentioned they may be, this can significantly obstruct and hinder what police are empowered to do,” Supt Wieszyk said.

Supt Wieszyk said such “vigilante campaigns” created the potential for violence.

“There is a very real risk to both parties when someone chooses to take the law into their own hands,” he said.

“He doesn’t know who he’s going to meet in these circumstances, so it could be someone that is a violent person who may attack him, overseas there has been examples of that happening.”

The man is charged with assaulting one of the alleged online predators — an offence that is considered aggravated because the alleged victim was over 60 years of age.

Supt Wieszyk said the arrest was a public warning to others considering following the actions of the “paedophile hunter”.

“Absolutely — the whole idea behind this is to actually advise the entire community that if they do have any information or concerns about people to let us know and we will act on it,” he said.

“Pass any information you have to police — don’t take this on board yourself, don’t make contact with a view of making a citizen’s arrest it’s risky to both parties.”

Supt Wieszyk said while neither of the alleged paedophiles caught in the online stings had yet been charged and the “paedophile hunter” had, police were taking the allegations seriously.

“There is evidence that needs to be retrieved in relation to the other people, and his actions are investigated completely separately so they are separate matters and need to be investigated separately,” he said.

“We absolutely fully comprehend community concern about individuals who offend against children (but) police actively target people who offend against children.”

Police said one of the videos had identified a house which had since been the target of vandals, despite the alleged sex predator not living there.

“I believe there has been egging, graffiti, faeces and that sort of thing, and the person concerned doesn’t live there any more,” he said.

A joint taskforce between state and federal police had conducted more than 70 covert operations, leading to 14 arrests of alleged sex predators since January 2015, Supt Wieszyk said.

Police urge anyone with concerns about suspected child sex offenders to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.