A Dutch father has been jailed for 10 months for beating up a 46-year-old man who tried to meet up with his 14-year-old daughter by posing online as a teenage boy.

The public prosecution department had called for a six year jail sentence, arguing Mario H had attempted to murder his victim in January this year. However, the court said there was no evidence that H wanted to kill the conman.

H became suspicious after roses and chocolates arrived for his daughter at their home, said to be from a 17-year-old boy she had met online. H, thinking the roses were too expensive for a teenager to buy, checked with the flower shop and discovered they had been bought by an older man. He then alerted the police.

H continued to carry out his own investigation and days later warned the police that he had the man, named as Jack S, in his sights. ‘If you are not here in 15 minutes, I will solve it myself,’ H is reported as saying.

The police later found S with a head wound, cuts and a broken arm.