Five teenagers who attacked a 73-year-old man they had lured to a meeting as part of a ‘paedophile hunt’ have been found guilty of contributing to his death.

The two older boys, aged 17 and 18 at the time, were given one year jail terms, six months suspended. The other three, the youngest of whom was 15, were given suspended sentences and community service. The sentences were lower than those demanded by the public prosecution department.

The teenagers were also ordered to pay the victim’s family damages of €52,500 and €11,000 for his funeral.

The 15-year-old youngster set up the meeting with the victim, a former teacher, via a gay dating site. The man was initially reluctant to meet the boy, saying he was too young. When he did agree to turn up, he was confronted by the group of five teenagers, who beat him up. He died later in hospital.

‘Taking the law into your own hands is unacceptable,’ the court said in its ruling. ‘These boys played judge and jury, and that is not how our legal system works.’

Several of the youngsters had been involved in other attacks on men they thought were paedophiles, the Telegraaf reported.