Neighbour is a convicted paedophile

[Abitlosttoday]

I have just found out that our close (proximity-wise) neighbour has been given a suspended sentence for looking at peadophilia online. His address, in the news report of court proceedings, is not our street but an address in a different town. However, it is him (there's a clear photo) and he has been living on our street with his partner for at least a year. I saw him a few days ago when he pulled his two dogs out of the way so I could pass with my kids. They're 4 and 7. (The kids, not the dogs!) I don't know what to think. It's a small street. I can see into his living room from mine. It's a small town too. His partner is my SIL's sister's boss. I don't know their names though - that's the level of familiarity. Just because my head is battered with half-term and I am exhausted, aibu to ask what your thoughts would be about this situation. All his crimes were online but some of the images were the worst sort.
We only know because another neighbour has a distant work connection to the guy. He may believe he has some anonymity here. I cried when I heard. I'm angry too. My head hurts, but that may also be because of this endless school break!

Before you jump to conclusions, he could be a twin, could be just very similar looking, get facts straight

@Abitlosttoday

It is him. As I said before, his face is in the paper and I have seen his face regularly for over three years, since I bought this house. It's not gossip or speculation. It is the same man.

I don't comprehend why you are being accused of being a gossip when it's been reported in the media.

If his address is different in the article then I suspect he hasn't let the authorities know.

YANBU to be worried. Honestly I would report him living at this address. What on earth is his partner thinking? Does she have children or grandchildren?

@getitright

But it's not gossip nor heresay - it was in the local news & it was a report on the court case. So OP has read a factual story. It wasn't a TikTok or Facebook post.

''Paedophiles have to live somewhere''

Hopefully not near any children.

The bastards are everywhere, though. Seems to be a plague of them, and the damage they do is phenomenal.

The news article refers to his very visible illness - Parkinson's. It features a clear photo of his face too. My facts are straight.

His partner is very chatty with a six year old who lives next door. The child is interested in their dogs. You think I should just keep my own kids safe?

So what now get your posse and your pitchforks ready? Stick a poster with an arrow on it?

It is all you can do without getting in trouble with the law, though perhaps raise your concerns with the police

I saw a Louis Theroux documentary once and there's part of the USA where they stick signs outside where sex offenders live. Seemed sensible to me

And what is the general intelligence level of that area?

No, I just share the article link with my neighbour (and friend). I would be mortified if she didn't do the same if the positions were reversed. "Oh, you let my small kid chat with that paedophile's partner with not a care in the world, while he lurked about indoors or right there beside us, petting the fucking dogs. Thanks for that. Can I borrow a cup of sugar?" Jesus. No pitchforks. Just general awareness to protect the many children on our street.

I guess that's fair enough it's a publicly available article

Ignore the deliberately goady posters.

Thank you for caring and considering the kids he potentially has access to, and not just your own.

Is the neighbour aware? They definitely should know. The partner could be complicit.

It's a horrible situation to be in, but I suppose at least you know he's a danger, it's shocking how many we don't know about because they fool us they're good/normal people.

It was this one: LA Stories: Among the Sex Offenders

I don't know the general intelligence level iirc there were very strict rules on where they could live and a lot of them all lived together in one remote area and everyone else just avoided that bit.

I once read there's over half a million peadophilles in the uk so a lot of us live near one. You are on a slightly better position of knowing who he is.

Talk to your kids about private pants (nspcc). Tell them specifically not to go near him. Make sure they know not to keep secrets from you. Don't engage in conversation with him in front of your kids. (You don't want him to be a trusted stranger)

And if you see anything suspicious, report it.

Is he lying about his address? If so is that because he's living with children?

There was a thread on here recently (can’t remember which one) that really brought home to me how many people have had experience of pedophiles - how many there must be for so many MN to have known one.

With that in mind, at least you know what he is and can keep your children away from him and as they grow older teach them to stay away from him and anyone they see him with.

If you moved you could end up next door to one and not know.

If the address from the article is different it's more likely years old. Without a custodial sentence he was probably on the SOR for two years and won't be on it now.

He would also most likely have had conditions not to be in the same house as someone under 16 without prior consent from whoever was monitoring him while on the register. Living on a street where children live is not a condition.

@Abitlosttoday how old is the article?

Or a hologram maybe?
Ffs

I don't know where you'd move to in order to be somewhere with no paedophiles nearby. According to Google there are currently 68,000 registered sex offenders in the UK (very roughly 1 in every 1000 people) and many more that haven't been convicted or cautioned. I think the best anyone can do is to remain vigilant and educate your children appropriately.

Just carry on with life and make sure you always keep your kids safe. Honestly, there are more child sexual abusers in your life than you know and very likely with closer access to your children than this guy.

1 in 5 children is sexually abused. There are statistically speaking quite a lot of dangerous adults out there. Until it happened to us, I never would have believed there were so many so closed. Thankfully, my dc were not the children abused, but I’ve had 2 close family members, close enough to have had unsupervised access to my dc, arrested and convicted of CSA. It’s very common.

You can’t go through life afraid of everyone, but you do need to be on your toes, and very likely the person who poses the most risk is someone you already trust. That’s just the reality of how abusers work. They aren’t snatching children off the street. The advantage is now you know at least about this one.

He's a convicted sex offender.
Where's the "gossip and hearsay"?

No just inform the neighbour so they can keep their own child safe, no pitchforks necessary!

You're better off worrying about your brother, your husband, the youth worker, the friendly chap who is always willing to help out, ,who offered to come and do some heavy lifting when you guys were moving furniture around, who brought your kids some toys round because theit kids had out grown them, who waves and offers you all a lift when it's raining etc...

Majority of paedophiles that pose a danger to your child are the trusted adults in your lives, not the known paedophiles who live 6 doors away.