AIBU: sex offender at my social gathering

[HoppyFish]

Hi folks. Not sure this is the best place to post this but I value your advice. I have been going to a nice life drawing session for years. Nothing sexual about it, it's more of a social gathering, with music, a cuppa, bit of food, and drawing/painting with fellow artists. However, there's a man, in his sixties, not a professional artist, who makes me uneasy. He is always quick to befriend any young female attendees or models, and invites them to his studio or home for photoshoots (for portrait work) and possibly painting. I suppose some people would describe him as a 'creep'. He never asks males, middle-aged or older women. He also sometimes stops drawing early, moves position, and sits staring at the model (when female) as if in a trance. Now, I suppose there is nothing wrong in any of this - an amateur artist wanting to paint portraits maybe wants to specialise in young females. And maybe when staring at the model without drawing he is simply studying anatomy or light and shadow. Anyway, my uneasiness led me to do a little online research on him, and I have discovered that he was jailed for downloading indecent images and mainly videos of children, levels 1 (most serious) to 5, involving men having sex with girls, aged between 2 and 9. He was jailed for a year and spent 10 years on the register. I expect he came off the register around four years ago. I think I am the only one who knows this, and it makes me feel even more uneasy about him. But is there anything to be concerned about? All the models and attendees at the life drawing session are over eighteen. I suppose I should just let him get on with his hobby, but I can't help continuing to feel uneasy, especially when I see him swapping numbers with every new young woman who he encounters. I expect they are impressed by the 'portrait artist' wanting to paint them, but I wonder if they would be keen to pose for him if they knew what I knew, and if they knew he never seems to produce any finished paintings? Am I being unreasonable? Thanks for your time.

He served his time?? He should be hung.

Totally agree. There petty crime and then there’s dangerous violent offenders, he has committed the worst acts imaginable and to be honest I would feel sick even being in a room with him.

You need to report it to the leader and let her decide how to deal with it. Creating Anonymous groups to spread this information is vindictive and you sound better than that, but you do need to act.

Listen to your gut, he made you feel uncomfortable enough to do a background search on him… just because he went to jail doesn’t mean he won’t commit a crime again.

Exactly this! He may be trying to get close to these women because there's a high chance they have DC's!

I’m all for rehabilitating people but if people convicted of illegal perverted behaviour choose to do non-sexual activities involving naked adult - I don’t fucking care if they are excluded from such activities for life.

i believe in rehabilitation- but to expect someone to be able to live in anonymity for the rest of their life without suffering social consequences is lunacy.

and to the person who said he was not around vulnerable people - you don’t believe someone being paid to be naked in an non sexual scenario is vulnerable? Cop on.

FFS you cannot ask for enhanced DBS checks just because your niece got creeped out by a perve in a life drawing class.

Attending and adult hobby class is not regulated activity.

Raise it with the class organiser. They can exclude this pervy dude from attending, it's very straightforward.

But it is not a legal/police issue.

How does it sound like that?!
Tell the teacher op.

Thank you all. I will be informing the organiser.

I doubt they are impressed or flattered by him, they are just doing their job and being polite. They absolutely deserve to be made aware that he isn't safe. I am a freelance model and every time I agree to work with a new photographer I know I'm walking into a potentially dangerous situation, and I do take precautions- making sure my husband knows where I am, checking up references from other models, keeping my phone close by- but I mostly just have to go on trust and what my gut tells me. You know something they should know before they agree to be alone with him, potentially nude, at his home.

OP, he's up to his old tricks.

Quietly inform the teacher and the institution that hosts the classes. Those models need to be protected. There is a duty of care to the middle and you don't want the officials saying that nobody told them.

I would additionally have a word with the police. Tell them what you've told us and then leave it in their hands. He will groom before he attacks and it's impossible to say how far along that road he's already gone

Then your conscience will be clear. Paedophiles have distinct stages of how they select and groom their victims. These steps
will feature in previous cases and the police will thank you for informing on him.

Prenez courage.

You are ridiculous. Of course she should blow the whistle. There are young women going to his house, posing naked. Tell, tell, tell.

I hope the organiser will ban him. Save the need for a few large men to approach him and make it very clear his presence is not welcome.

Would you like your 18 year old daughter posing in front of a sex offender? Please do the right thing by other women. Tell the teacher and anyone posing naked or going to his house. They all have a right to know.

He served his time

Wow, Is that really how it works with people convicted of child abuse offences?

They get their rocks off looking at child abuse pictures, download thousands of the things, meaning hundreds of children are being abused to feed their perversion.
They get caught and convicted
They serve their time - as you say
They are put on the SO register
They come off the SO register

And Hallellujah! No more looking at child abuse pictures, or even thinking about child abuse pictures they have seen in the past, no, saints be praised they are completely cured of that perversion, it’s only regular grown up porn from now on. Who would have thought that a bit of prison time and your name on a list could perform such miracles eh?

Dont be so fucking naive @OhHelloMiss . They don’t stop, they just get more careful.

Aside from everything else, I think the models should know that he hasn't finished a portrait. I think they should know about his history too, but I would think If they are volunteering their time they would expect to see the end result as part of an exchange in good faith.

Yes, this. Whilst I'm sure there are plenty of young life models who enjoy doing it purely because of their love of art - or maybe, for all we know, some of them are exhibitionists - I imagine the vast majority are only doing it for the money; and may find that the attention and flattery that it brings them boosts their possibly low sense of self-esteem.

I don't know how he's been managing to convince his models to sit for him, but I do know that sexual predators are extremely persistent and manipulative. They'll stop at little get access to their quarry, including taking jobs with responsibility or taking on hobbies through which they can indulge their predilections. Hiding in plain sight is a speciality.

OP, he set off your creep radar to the extent that you then went away and researched him. Your organizer does need to know about his prior convictions, but if his behaviour is 'off' enough to be making members of the class uncomfortable then that alone is sufficient reason to exclude him, just in case s/he needs an excuse.

As for your fellow hobbyists, anyone who might be at risk from these sex offenders deserves information to safeguard themselves. If he's still exhibiting the same concerning behaviour then no one should feel they have to protect him by keeping his predilections a secret. This isn't cheap 'gossip', nor is it vigilantism. It's the very basics of safeguarding.

Society has turned a blind eye and protected these predators for far too long, now #TimesUp should mean precisely that. Good on you for your intentions of sharing what you know, OP.

That only works for lesser crimes, like robbery or fraud. Once a rapist, always a rapist!

I've done work with NOTA in the past. According to their research, if enough red flags are identified and treatment starts in childhood, then and then only is rehabilitation sometimes possible.

Once they reach adulthood it's far too late. Adult sex offenders cannot be rehabilitated.

I would print out everything you found, put it in an envelope, and post it anonymously to the organiser. Because while you're not wrong, you won't be thanked for bringing this to their attention.

May I add that his conviction being spent, he's served his time is largely irrelevant.

It's the behaviour now that matters. From experience in law enforcement, it's often the case that they don't change their ways, they find other ways of accessing what they need.

It's quite common that SO build 'trusted' relationships with adults to gain access to their children and young victims.

Crimestoppers or have a chat with a local cop if you feel that's a better way of dealing with it, then you've done what you can to get the information into the system.

"plus if he did 1 year custodial it’s 5 years on the register not 10..."

You're slightly mistaken here. If it's a community order then it is 5 years being subject to the notification requirements (what you refer to as being "on the register").

If it's a sentence of 6 months or less then it's 7 years. For 6+ months up to 30 months then it's 10 years and for more than 30 months then it's indefinite.

The only thing I'd say, though, is make absolutely categorically sure that this IS the same bloke. Have you seen articles with his photo in them, or other details that clearly identify him apart from just his name?

I still feel for poor, innocent H from Steps, that anybody stumbling across an article referring to a vile criminal with the same name as him - also correctly described as a singer or musician to boot - could have had unspeakable vigilante repercussions for him.

@HoppyFish I would inform the police and they will intervene. He must be breaking bail conditions

I'm sorry? From how the OP described things, he would have served 6 months in prison and then 6 months on licence (when he would have had a probation officer)

"He was jailed for a year and spent 10 years on the register. I expect he came off the register around four years ago."

Probation have had no contact with him for 13.5 years and the police have had no contact with him for around four years

If the information about him is in the public domain, then tell the organiser your concerns, then it's their call. I totally understand why you might be reticent, but as someone above said, this is safeguarding, both of young people and adults.

The fact that he is convicted of downloading images and not a rape doesn't preclude serious SO.