A judge has described the actions of a group of young men who posted "video montages" of assaults on gay men they had lured through Grindr as "a hate crime"

Open Justice reports the trio who were aged 18 or 19 at the time called themselves the "Tauranga Paedophile Catchers" and arranged meetings with men where they would assault them, film it and post it on social media.

The assaults included punches, kicks, stomps and slaps, and during one a man was made to strip naked.

Judge Stephen Coyle says it was the targeting of gay men and he reached the clear conclusion it was a hate crime.

All three defendants received up to ten months home detention after discounts for youth and their guilty pleas.