Cooper Watt, 20, a Muay Thai fighter from Brisbane, pretended to be a 15-year-old boy on gay dating app Grindr to catch a suspected paedophile in January 2025. He and two underage accomplices assaulted the 70-year-old man at a park in Deception Bay, robbing him of $3,000. Watt pleaded guilty to robbery with personal violence and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with parole, as well as ordered to pay $3,000 to the victim. Watt has since expressed remorse for his actions, warning others against similar vigilante-style attacks, saying it's not their responsibility to take the law into their own hands but rather the police's.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.85, but none of the 2 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 5888: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-06
- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source
A Brisbane boxer who lured a suspected paedophile to a park before bashing him in a 'vigilante honeytrap' has sent a warning to others planning to follow his example.
asserted
who → see → example
Cooper Watt, 20, this week admitted in court that he targeted the 70-year-old victim, along with two underage offenders, after they connected on gay dating app, Grindr.
asserted
they → admit → app
The court heard the group masqueraded as a 15-year-old boy when they sent the man a naked image and arranged to meet him at a park in Deception Bay, in Brisbane's north in January 2025.
asserted
they → hear → January
They repeatedly called him a paedophile while assaulting him, forced him to withdraw $3,000 in cash from a nearby ATM and left him bruised and wounded.
asserted
They → call → him
Watt pleaded guilty to one count of robbery in company with personal violence on Wednesday and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with immediate parole.
asserted
Watt → plead → parole
The Muay Thai fighter was also ordered to pay $3,000 to the victim, with the conviction recorded.
asserted
conviction → order → victim
On Friday, Watt told the Daily Mail he regretted his actions and wanted to apologise, but said he didn't think paedophiles deserve the 'same chance in society'.
asserted
paedophiles → tell → society
'Obviously paedophilia is horrible, it's a very heinous crime and ruins lives, right?
asserted
it → ruin → lives
But does that give you the right to meet up with them at a park?
asserted
that → give → park
Absolutely not,' Watt said.
asserted
Watt → say → ?
Cooper Watt, 20, lured a suspected paedophile to a park before bashing him last year in a 'vigilante-style honeytrap'
asserted
Watt → lure → honeytrap
The Muay Thai athlete has warned others against similar actions
'
asserted
athlete → warn → actions
I do feel remorse for what I've done and I never got the chance to say that in court.
asserted
I → feel → court
Regardless of what he was there to do, I was in the wrong, I did break the law and sometimes people act out of character and on impulse.'
Watt, who was 18 at the time of the incident, denied the attack was premeditated and said he wasn't sure why the group did it in the first place.
asserted
group → do → place
He said the victim was the only person the group had tried to target, but was unsure if he was chosen at random by his co-offender, who had started the messaging.
asserted
who → say → messaging
Watt rejected the claims made in court by prosecutor Zachary Kaplan that the attack was a hate crime because the victim was a gay man.
uncertain
victim → reject → Kaplan
I work with lots of gay people, I'm friends with gay people, my aunties are gay,' he said.
asserted
he → work → people
Watt said that, in hindsight, the group should have contacted police instead of assaulting the man.
asserted
group → say → man
He is now warning other young men like him who are tempted to mount similar vigilante style attacks to think before they act, no matter what the temptation.
asserted
temptation → warn → attacks
Prosecutor Zachary Kaplan said the violent assault had been inspired by the 'manosphere epidemic' as seen in Louis Theroux's 'Inside the Manosphere' documentary (pictured)
asserted
assault → say → documentary
Brisbane man Oliver Conroy, 27, died last month after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of teens
'Leave it to the police and don't put it in your own hands,' he said.
uncertain
he → die → hands
Whether they do their job or not is up to them.'
It comes after the court was told the assault was inspired by a 'manosphere epidemic' across social media.
asserted
assault → come → media
'It relates to what really is an epidemic, in relation to young men consuming theatre online and being encouraged to take back society from these people,' the prosecutor told the court.
asserted
prosecutor → relate → court
'In this situation, this defendant and his two co-offenders have done exactly that.
asserted
defendant → do → that
Recently Louis Theroux released a documentary called Inside The Manosphere.
asserted
Theroux → release → Manosphere
It addresses influences on social media platforms creating content where they lure what they consider to be paedophiles to a location, where they then extract vigilante justice.'
asserted
they → address → justice
The comments come just weeks after another Brisbane man was the alleged target of a honeytrap-style incident.
asserted
man → come → incident
Oliver Conroy, 27, was allegedly assaulted and carjacked in the inner Brisbane suburb of Kelvin Grove about 10.30pm on July 24.
uncertain
Conroy → assault → July
He died two weeks later after receiving 'catastrophic injuries'.
asserted
He → die → injuries
Seven teenagers, including two girls aged 14 and 15, have been charged over his murder.
asserted
teenagers → include → murder
They are among 11 juveniles charged with murder under new Queensland laws.
asserted
They → charge → laws
If convicted, they face mandatory life sentences with a minimum of 20 years before parole under 'adult crime, adult time' laws introduced by Queensland's Liberal National government.
asserted
they → convict → government
