Would you attend a peaceful protest if a convicted paedophile moved into your street?

[thefourgp]

I’ve never attended anything similar before and I’m in two minds about going. He was convicted (I’ve read the newspaper articles which show his photo) and has been released after serving half his sentence. I don’t know if he owns the property but he’s moved in with his wife who stood by him. There’s a peaceful protest being arranged. Would you go?

He raped a 5 year old and his wife stood by him?! What the actual --*+ is wrong with that woman

PheasantPlucker1 Of course I wouldn’t want to live next to a convicted sex offender, no one does. I also wouldn’t want to live next door to a drug dealer, a house breaker or an arsehole in general.

However, it wouldn’t change how we live our lives as our kids don’t play out on the street and my youngest gets taken to school so on a day to day level, nothing would change. And I wouldn’t react apart from not giving them the time of day.

And I’m not sure what you think you are proving by your links? You said sentences are getting shorter but you are posting a link about prosecution levels which is a completely different issue.

@Puzzledandpissedoff the term ‘low level’ is not one used in Probation, this is journalistic interpretation. We look at risk, imminence, offence nature, opportunity to offend and so forth before we make a decision about categorisation.

Wellthatsunusual can you provide a link to any that have escaped justice due to vigilantes?

I havent seen a report of that happening, but it would be intresting.

Can you also explain what youd do if one lived next to you and your children felt threatened, as a pp described?

PheasantPlucker1* Oh, now you want posters to provide YOU with links😂?

Google it.

PheasantPlucker1

I have lived opposite a convicted sex offender before and it made not one ounce of difference to my life.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. Child abuse is terrible and rightly people should be punished but through legal means. People harassing people isn’t right either and can lead to criminal behaviour or innocent people getting hurt. Years ago my training involved working with paedophiles and I was judgemental about this initially. A mentor explained that most paedophiles had been abused themselves or had had very dysfunctional childhoods and they needed help and support.

NickNacky if you work in this area you will obviousky see prosecution amd sentencing as seperate.

For the rest of us, thats a criminal who never recieved a sentence, so of course sentences are shorter. They dont exist. We could argue pedantics of that all day long, but Im sure you can see why people become angry and frustrated having these people in their community.

As for your reply, that stink of "Im alright Jack"
Your children wont be affected, so its ok. What about the others?

@PheasantPlucker1

Wellthatsunusual can you provide a link to any that have escaped justice due to vigilantes?

I havent seen a report of that happening, but it would be intresting.

Can you also explain what youd do if one lived next to you and your children felt threatened, as a pp described?

There is a poster right here on this thread There won't be court reports of a court case that didn't happen in the first place.

And if a paedophile lived near me and I felt threatened by it I would watch my child like a hawk.

Pheasant there's a well known case a well known vigilante ruined, goes by the name of Tommy Robinson
Living next door to such an offender wouldn't directly affect my children as they don't go into strangers' houses, there are several I know of in our immediate area, again it doesn't change our life at all.

Nicknacky so, to quote your own words, youre just another poster giving your opinion and trying to imply its fact.

@PheasantPlucker1

The replies here amaze me.

Were talking about a man who raped a 5 year old, yet the disgust and scorn is aimed at his neighbours.

The "rent a mob" who are now accused of wanting to hide their "own activities".

Surely not wanting a convicted child rapist live on the street your child plays on is a normal response?

Why the anger and hate at these "rent a mob, vigilante, illogical, thick (and all the other names they have been called)" parents who just dont want their children raped? Can anyone answer that?

There was an article on the bbc the other day which included a video of an interview with a woman whose father had killed himself after being accused online of being a paedophile. The woman had then received rape threats against her and her daughter. So no, I don’t think the vigilantes always want what’s best for children, in this case they were threatening to rape one, such was their disgust at her being related to someone accused of paedophilia. I’m assuming the massive contradictions escaped them and their one brain cell.

PheasantPlucker1 But you asked me how I would react so obviously I answered that, but now you are complaining I haven’t thought of others?!

You can’t seem to get it into your head that they have to live somewhere, like it or not.

@Ritasueandbobtoo9 you are absolutely right, but be prepared to be vilified on here by people that know better than the various professionals that actually DEAL with this issue on a daily basis.

It’s the ones you don’t know about that you need to worry about - in school, fostering, adopting, running the youth group, in church, running scouts/guides etc etc. They’re the ones. The ones you know and trust...

PheasantPlucker1 What opinions have I tried to portray as facts?

So theres a perfect solution.

I live in an area where kids do play out. They do walk to school by themselves. So we dont want known, convicted peadophiles on the streets, and dont want to change our lives and our childrens lives at great expense to accomodate them .

You live in areas where that doesnt happen, and it wont affect you.

the term ‘low level’ is not one used in Probation, this is journalistic interpretation. We look at risk, imminence, offence nature, opportunity to offend and so forth before we make a decision about categorisation

I believe you implicitly, BananaPop, but what I'm not so confident about is the offenders being allowed back into "community supervision" when the process has failed so disastrously and so often

There's also the question of retribution (as opposed to revenge) being publicly seen to be delivered, and for me the current system just doesn't do this

PheasantPlucker1 Regardless of my kids playing outside my house (and that’s purely because I live on a busy road) my children have still been taught about the dangers of strangers, however I’m far more concerned about the places that they are more likely to suffer abuse rather than a neighbour who they are never going to realistically be in any real contact with.

And I will have neighbours that are sex offenders. That’s a given.

Oh, and what did I portray as fact?

Pheasant you'd be shocked if you saw the area I lived in, then. It's just like yours by the sounds of it!

@Puzzledandpissedoff thing is, release on licence when the relevant part of the sentence is served is automatic, and has nothing to do with being “allowed back” onto comm. supervision.

NickNacky you implied vigilante justice harms more prosecutions than it contributes too.

At no point have I or will I condone people that become violent, choose innocent targets etc.

In my opinion sentences are not long enough, the police, CPS and courts are not doing enough to protect children. Rightly or wrongly this is a common feeling, and so I can understand people becoming angry and frustrated and feeling so let down by the law they feel the need to take it into their own hands.

Im not saying thats how it should be. Im saying people feel they have no other option.