How can I stop thinking about a distressing news article? *trigger warning*

[Dontwinfriendswithsalad]

I’ve just read a news article about an absolutely horrific case of child abuse by a teacher called Jamie Varley. If you haven’t read anything about it please don’t, as I desperately wish I hadn’t.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can scrub this from my brain or stop thinking about it? I know the world is a cruel place but this is probably one of the worst things I’ve read and I need it out of my head.

Oh, they are always very helpful, often go above and beyond.

The one caught at dd's primary school (parent, not teacher) was everyones best friend. He was obviously not one of 'those creeps', he got inside the inner circles with many parents and teachers. Children were allowed home with this man because he had a daughter and wife.

He groomed those children on tiktok. He took horrific images of the abuse and shared it online with his pedo mates.

I used to work with sex offenders, they are fairly often mundane people who seem perfectly nice to those around them. Its how they become successful at it,
We all know men who set off our creep alarms but that means they tend to be limited in terms of offending because people don't give them as much opportunity. The people who are able to commit real horrors have to be those who fly under the radar otherwise people wouldn't get in their car, let them have access to their kids, mates go home with them on nights out.

This is a really good example of that, the checks for adoption are exhausting. You've got to be pretty together, and many decent people fail them

I don't know what the answer is. I'm a single adopter and often the narrative is that adoption is too hard, the level checks too off putting, excludes too many people etc so its hard to see what extra steps could be put in.

I'm also surprised to see the overt feelings on here about same sex families and kids needing a mum and dad. We should be able to discuss these things without reverting back to homophobia

One of the first things I would implement is a need for a female caregiver in all adoptions.

I hear that.

I'm not sure if you're in adoption groups, but there's some support out there because sadly this has dredged up some strong feelings about adoption (especially non hetro set ups). Don't hesitate to reach out to them. I fear it might be a bumpy ride for a bit

Kids getting killed does bring up strong emotions in people I’m afraid. We kind of like our kids alive.

Poor little Elsie Scully-Hicks in Cardiff as well. Something definitely needs to change. People who despise children are adopting babies...why??,

That didn't save Ian Huntley, Ian Watkins or Richard Huckle in the end.

@AccordingToWhom hopefully 🤞

There are still ways to get them.
The screws dont have eyes in the back of their heads 😉

They just hang out with other minces though, sadly. Ian Watkins was killed over a drug debt, not because he was a child rapist.

No, they don’t. And is that going to undo what was done to Preston, or make his short life somehow free of pain, humiliation, harm and suffering? No, it won’t.

It will create a fuck load of work and administration at the taxpayers expense though, so let’s get them imprisoned and that is the punishment, not some sort of additional torture at the hand of some equally depraved and sadistic individual take the place of the law.

If you care for children, if you are horrified by what happened, the way to show this isn’t with more violence or hatred or torture. It just isn’t. Apart from anything else, it takes funding and time away and it isn’t an infinite pot. Imagine how different things might have been had Preston’s mother been supported to keep her baby, maybe? Would anyone have given a shit then? I don’t think they would, tbh, just one more kid from a council estate with a name MNetters don’t like and a mother who had social services involved so must have done something to warrant it, eh?

I realise its not reportable but seems sad for the jury to be discharged. I wonder what will happen next?
Poor people to sit through all that and then be sent home

If you hate people that post here as much as this post infers, then leave. It’s not a requirement to be here.

I bet they're relieved though. Such a distressing case.

I’m not the one glorifying murder and torture. I don’t think I need to be lectured about ‘hating people.’ I hate violence, I hate cruelty and I hate it when people encourage either. I think that is reasonable.

I think it restarts on Monday. Though I assume that means start again?!

I think so as they wouldn't have seen the earlier stuff

Yeah that's what I assume. Poor witnesses having to do this again

Good point. I hadn't thought of that.

It will create a fuck load of work and administration at the taxpayers expense though

And keeping them in jail for as long as they may live doesn't?

And I find the rest of your post so disgusting I won't dignify it with a response.

My father in law who who be 90 this year worked in prisons. He said they used to leave the cells unlocked for people like these men. You can understand why.

We heard you. Your feelings have been noted.

I don’t need or want my feelings noted; I’m not in therapy

I read it too and it has stuck with me. I have two other 'extreme' things I happened across on the net, years ago and they won't leave me either.

This sort of thing seems to be part of being an adult in 2026. Stop the planet, I want to get off.

The news said that they will.swear in a new jury on Monday