Publically outing a sex offender / peadophile on social media

[rosegoldivy]

This morning DH said to me he had seen something on Facebook that had stated that a sex offender / paedophile had moved into an address a few streets away from us. I asked how he knew this and he said that something had been shared on facebook. He openly joked about how people would be going round to have a word with the guy and said it seemed from comments that it looked like his door had already been kicked in by angry residents.

I went on to facebook to have a nosey (obviously) and found the post he was talking about.

It was from one of those vigilante groups and they had named and shamed the individual, given details of his past crime (molested a child several years ago when he was 15) and gave his full address. From reading the comments on the post it was clear his door had been vandalised and kicked in then further down in the comments it came out that the address that was publically outed was not his address but actually a member of his family’s address and that young children live there. The sex offender actually lives in a town nearby but had been visiting. (why he had been visiting a house with young kids after his past I don’t understand)

So my AIBU is more that I don’t think the vigilante group should have shared a full address on social media without knowing all the details. Yes named the street so residents were aware but giving out the full address I think is a bit much especially in this case when the sex offender doesn’t live there and in fact there is a family living there who have now been subject to violence.

Thoughts?

Perhaps people don't want lots of innocent lives ruined in the process, or those who have paid their debt to society. It seems Shatner and others are on the side of common sense as opposed to the proverbial throwing out of the baby with the bath water.

I don’t think trying to dismantle the evidence I provided with lies is demolishing me

Your evidence was inaccurate. Please point out anything on this thread that you know to be a lie.

Why don’t you want these beasts brought to justice?

Where have I said that I don't?

Why do you support the judiciary in ignoring the demand for tougher sentencing?

Again, where have I said this? I haven't.

You really must try harder, @AntiSocial, it's laughable.

Dreadful. This is not the way to deal with things. Similarly, a few days ago, the Mail published pictures of the houses of some of those leading the climate protests. It's very worrying that the media colludes in these witch hunts and even attempts to initiate them to 'generate news'.

@Jacques based on a previous recent thread they started, almost certainly the former.

"It's very telling" antisocial. Is it now? Would you please be rather more clear?

these vermin can never pay their debt to society

Oh dear. Caught you again, @AntiSocial. On your other thread, you specifically state in answer to someone else's query that "there is no such thing as society"

How can these vermin pay their debt to society when you yourself say society doesn't exist? If society doesn't exist, then presumably they would have no debt to pay? Which is rather counter to the argument you've been making earlier.

Dear oh dear.

They should not post anything as any potential Police Investigation could be jeopardised because of their actions.

Antisocial, thankfully you don't make the laws in this country.

@AntiSocialLOL stfu thug

They can't repay their debt to anyone whose suffered abuse, but as the law stands they are able to repay their debt to society hence their release from prison.

the majority agree with my opinion and the liberal elite won’t be able to hold them back much longer

Where to start?

You think it would be ok to name the street but not the full address? You’re as bad as the rest of them.

Let the legal system do it’s job (which it sounds like it already has done).

Also remember that he was only a child at the time of his crime.

Iv not read the full thread.

Imo vigilante groups and outraged mobs drive sex offenders underground (and into the hidden online) when that happens chances of unsupervised reoffending becomes much easier.

If we want to be able to keep an eye on where they are and what they are doing they need to feel they don't have to hide.

I want to wipe them off the face of the earth but that's not possible so I'd rather they had really robust supervision and they felt "safe enough" which gets them caught!

user1480880826 great point reiterated about him being a child.

anti How do you feel about those with learning difficulties who get caught up in these stings? Do you think it’s right that they follow, harass and bully those with difficulties and broadcast it love?

Live! Not love

Very good point @Ginkythefangedhellpigofdoom

Just look at the States for an example of thousands of sex offenders being made itinerant (and so harder to monitor) by laws designed to "give communities the right to know".

Any paedophile with any modicum of sense (and many of them are extremely clever) would hook up with these groups and hide from within? Find out what these groups were up to and therefore make it even easier to evade detection or, conversely, to help find other like minded people to continue their depraved behaviour.

Vigilante justice is the lowest of the low. Absolute scum bags who make the world a worse place. They are so vile that they almost manage to make me feel sorry for convicted peadophiles (but not quite lol). There is no benefit to their behaviour, it's just an excuse for them to act like hooligans. They don't care that half the time they've got their facts wrong and are hurting innocent people. They're too thick for that.

I hope they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Perhaps then when they are released someone will hear through the grapevine that they broke down the door of a strangers house to get to the child inside, and they will then be on the receiving end of their fabulous justice system. They will cry that it's not fair and that the mob have got their facts mixed up, but the mob won't care. True social justice.

Here in the USA the photos, names and address of all sex offenders in the area are listed on a notice board at our town police station.

i think its ultimately what happens when people do not trust that the law adequately deals with sex offenders or protects children.

You cant have it both ways. You either police properly and adequately, or people will take it into their own hands and then more mistakes will be made.
I cant say I agree with these groups, but its hardly surprising that they take the law into their own hands when you know about some of the things people get away with

Yeah someone mentioned this up thread...

If this person was 15 when they committed this crime, I'm quite shocked. They were quite young? Still a kid really...

Did you know there are cases where children get abused by other children? Even primary age children? Are those monsters? Should they be locked up? Are they condemned for the rest of their lives?

Or is it they've been exposed to harmful behaviours themselves and are just doing what they've been taught? Quite often children who abuse children are actually being abused themselves. That's where they learn it from.
Shouldn't we look at them as children who need help, guidance and counselling into learning this is wrong behaviour?

I don't know the details of the case or the severity. But quite rarely are these things black and white, which is why it should be left to the CPS to deal with, not vigilante justice.
Quite often the vigilante groups see things in black and white, when these things rarely are.

Dont get me wrong, an adult abusing a child is quite clearly wrong. But when we get to cases of young children (yes, I consider 15 to be young - they cant vote, not legal to drink, have sex, smoke etc. They are still essentially a child) abusing other children, it's not so easy to see it in black and white.

It's easy to blame the judge, but I have worked on several cases which have collapsed because of flaws in the collection of evidence and confessions. It needs to be left to experts.
I'm not in the UK, and watched Broadchurch last week. A case collapsed because the rules weren't adhered to.