Have Scouts said anything about Assistant leader 'Baloo' Challenor?

Warning: child abuse.

Thanks. In this case the teacher's live in partner had a caution for child abuse from several years previously, and was now under investigation for further online child abuse.
The offender themselves was involved in several organisations where they would be in contact with children, including one where I was the person with formal responsibility for Safeguarding.
I was not formally informed, and the school knew nothing until I told them. I found out because I was interviewed with reference to the offender's second online offence, and read the police report which they'd left out on the desk describing the first offence while I was being interviewed.
I don't know if the police were deliberately hoping I'd read their paperwork, but they did confirm the caution and history when I asked.

I am not happy that a caution was the only penalty for a serious contact offence. The offender had apparently been boasting online about what he had done to a girl, but the police could not trace the victim or prove that it was more than empty boasting. The second offence might have involved my WiFi, hence my finding out.

As part of the investigation my own home was searched for images of child abuse. It took half a day, and wasn't particularly thorough, possibly because the offender didn't live there. All electronic devices were confiscated for months, and there is no way that I could have lived there and not have known.

I’m actually surprised that the TRAs and their handmaidens haven’t said that the child rapist isn’t trans.

Oh, they have.

My email, if it's of any use to anyone:

I am writing to you as a concerned parent and Scout Association volunteer to raise my concerns about the above named Assistant Scout Leader who has recently been imprisoned for child sex offences relating to a ten-year-old girl. He has been sentenced to 22 years: while I cannot bear to read details of the case, such a long custodial sentence surely means the crimes are serious.

Mr Challenor and his wife appear to have had a lot of social services involvement over several years, including their 3 children together and Mrs Challenor's 2 existing children having been taken into care, and the three youngest having been on the Child Protection register since birth . There were also serious animal cruelty offences by Mr Challenor, and yet he was able to volunteer within the Scout Association after these incidents.

I would like to see a full apology from the Scouts for this grave error of judgement, and an official statement particularly addressing the children (and parents of those children) left in Mr Challenor's care over the years. The Association will have had several months, since David Challenor was charged by police, to prepare a statement and frankly I am surprised one has not been forthcoming. This is important.

The Scout Association appear to have failed enormously in their duty of care. What use are your current safeguarding policies if this kind of man - with a known history - can still gain access to children? Although Mr Challenor's pack is not local to me, this is of national importance and a review of safeguarding procedures is urgently required.

Good email Lonny

UndercoverGC
Horrendous that it was up to you, but thank you for standing up for the safety of children

Why the hell don't police tell people about serious allegations? Or prevent suspects from having contact with children? WTF is going on?

The police don't automatically inform other organisations if someone is charged with a serious offence.
I once had to inform a school myself as an ordinary member of the public that a teacher was implicated in serious child abuse.

I will be contacting the scouts, planned to today but forgot it was a bank holiday. I have children involved.

From what I have seen online it suggests he was at some stage a scout leader (I'm not sure when this was) but continued to use the nickname afterwards in more social groups. It may be he stopped volunteering long before charges/SS involvement with his own children so I will await the response.

Scouts don't currently use DBS updates services (although ime neither do lots of other organisations including schools and the NHS) so I will suggest that this may be worth considering.

Don’t think he’s ever lived here.

He’s from the Stoke area of Coventry.

@Cachailleacha feel free to borrow my wording above

As above. I'm wider Warcs area.

I'm a scout parent and have sent the below to the info centre and safeguarding email address. I actually feel sick to think that their safeguarding has gone so wrong and will also be emailing my district once I've had a national response. Would urge any Scouting parents to do the same, this cannot be swept under the carpet:

As a parent of a child who has been involved in Scouting for many years, I am astonished that there has been no comment from Scouting UK about the case of David ‘Baloo’ Challenor. As I’m sure you are aware, Mr Challenor was an active Scout leader who was recently found guilty of the rape, sexual abuse and torture of a ten-year old child. While he was only recently found guilty/sentenced, he was charged with the offences a number of years ago and, according to media reports, maintained his position as a Scout leader when on bail for the offences, during his trial and right up to sentencing.

I’m sure you don’t need me to point out that this is an utter failure of your safeguarding policy. I want to know what you are going to do about it and how you propose to make things right within the Scouting community, to investigate, apologise and reassure the Scouting parents who have left their children in Mr Challenor’s care over the past years.

Mr Challenor’s pack isn’t local to me, but I believe this issue is of national concern to everyone involved in the movement and beyond. It is an utter disgrace.

I look forward to your response.

Can anyone tell me which area he was a Scout Leader in please? I’ve seen on another thread yesterday that he’s lived in Stoke on Trent and my son goes to Scouts in that area.

I’m glad to read that sashh, though it I’m sure it was still very upsetting at the time. Just proves how many perverts are in our midst.

Positively

Thank you, it isn't as bad as you are probably thinking (obviously it is horrendous for the children involved), it was a housemate who borrowed my pc while I was away from home.

The Scouts definitely need to answer some questions about this.
Appalling.

I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this, in any way sashh. 💐

That’s true sashh. I often wonder if the term, child pornography used by the powers that be, because they are mostly run by men. Does it make them uncomfortable to use the terms, child rape and abuse, because the perpetrators are vastly Male. A kind of ‘softening’ of the terms, because sigh 🙄 NAMALT.

This sort of thing should get the Guides to rethink their policy, but sadly, I don't think it will

Nor the fact that DC publicly supported the stance.

I hate the way media has managed to influence the public into using the term, ‘child pornography’.

The police use it too. In a letter I received it was used 3 times in capitals. Mybe they don't anymore this was a quite a few years ago.

I have two sons in Scouts and will email them on the safeguarding address.

There is a safeguarding email contact.
[email protected].

I have a child in Scouts and would like to know the answers to many of these questions posted. Not very good at wording emails though.

Also, the response from this particular scouts leadership team was very blaze bordering on, accusations of this nature almost being an occupational hazard.

Exactly MsPavlichenko. I hate the way media has managed to influence the public into using the term, ‘child pornography’. It’s child rape and abuse. It’s as if it’s too shocking to use those words. Abuse is shocking, horrific and cruel. Use the correct words to describe it. and breath I’m not getting at you, AlexanderHamilton, as I know you meant no harm by using that term, but we must call it what it is, instead of ‘sanitising’ it.

If you are under investigation for a crime like his, what are the processes? Is it incumbent only on you to disclose to your organisation? I do know someone who volunteered with scouts and a year or so later was charged with a sex crime (and eventually he pleased guilty and is now on the register). Everyone in the community knew, so there was no way he could have continued working there. However, if he'd been able to keep it quiet how would scouts or any other voluntary organisation get wind of it? I know DBS checks need to be done every so often, but in the interim?

AlexanderHamilton Images of child sexual abuse not pornography.

I was a scout leader, umm, 20yrs ago and then there was just one CRB check at the start, no rechecks or anything.