Last month in Shelton, Connecticut, a group of local Facebook vigilantes published what they claimed to be evidence that 27-year-old Joshua Rondini was a sexual predator who had been targeting children in the area. Shortly after being outed on Facebook, Rondini took his own life.

Now I want to be very clear about a few things. First, I don’t condone online vigilantism and its potential for ruining innocent lives through false accusations. Second, while I have no sympathy for actual child predators, no one’s death should be celebrated. With that being said, local police have confirmed that Rondini was indeed under investigation for alleged child sex crimes prior to the Facebook group outing him.

The problem with online vigilantism when it comes to suspected predators is that it can often tip off the suspect before police have had an opportunity to gather enough evidence to make an arrest. If the Facebook group had not outed Rondini, police may have been able to build a case against him that could have sent him to prison. Instead, Rondini chose to end his life before potentially facing justice. Now, whatever victims he may have had will never truly have their day in court.

Online vigilantism in the form of shaming and outing suspected predators can make people feel like they’re doing the right thing but in the long run, it may actually be harmful to the victims it’s trying to protect.