to be disgusted at the attitude of towards paedophile activity in the swimming pool

[rebee]

was at the local pool in north london - should I say which one?

had finished the lesson and whilst feeding the little one I overheard a lady talking with the manager.

In a nutshell she had taken her grandson to the pool a few weeks ago. A man approached her grandson in the pool and started tickling him, grandson told the man to stop as he didn't like it. A little girl asked him to tickle her but he told her wasn't allowed to tickle little girls.

At home the grandson told his nan that she was upset as the man had touched his privates. The grandmother repoted this to the pool and the conversation I was overhearing was the follow up to the initial report.

What pissed me of was the manager's attitude (middle -aged british man, relevant?) to the grandmother. IHe was basically telling her there was nothing he could do as she was unable to give a clear description of the man and that she should have reported it straight away. She didn't because she didn't know he has touched her grandson inappropriately. He also kept saying that he wouldn't have tickled/touched her grandson. SHe said she wouldn't normally but it happened quickly and took her by surprise.

The poor woman was clearly distraught and racked with guilt and he just wanted to close her down and get rid of her.

I was so cross I actually went and butted into their conversation and pleaded with her to notify the police. Even though it is unlikely they will be able to do anything based on the one incident, paedophile's are predators and this won't be the only assault. Her statement could help build a case against this pervert etc

I was just very shocked and disgusted to discover that the manager of a swimming pool/leisure centre has been notified of current paedophile activity and doesn't seem interested in doing anything about it.

rebee- dont be sorry- the whole point of mn is to talk anbout anything/everything and yes some people might take things the wrong way but as you said the point of this thread is the paedophile in the pool- and I think you were just trying to paint a full picture- pc is another thing that has gone mad these days.................anyway

Would you report it to the police yourself or take it further with the pool - i.e. above the manager's head as it were?

You could contact the council with your concerns. There'll be someone responsible for safeguarding children within Childrens Services. Say what you've said here, and I should imagine there'll be some sort of investigation into what did happen, what should have happened and whether the correct procedures were followed.

To be thorough you could write a letter with a copy to the police, that way both agencies are informed and you can satisfy yourself that you've done all you can.

I think I'd be concerned if I overheard this sort of conversation too. It's odd, though. My local pool doesn't allow unaccompanied children and I can't imagine a stranger being able to get too close to a child with the parent around. When are children old enough to swim on their own?

I was thinking about contacting the council and the local constabulary to see what the procedures are.

Seems like I'm not the only person on here that thinks this could be worthwhile so it's on my list for next week.

Thanks!

race isssue not relevant on either side.

Pool manager ABSOLUTELY has a duty to take note that such an incident is alleged to have taken place.

He's not doing so because he's worried that it will reflect badly on him or his team.

He should have offered to call the police immediately - it is for them, not him, to decide whether the lack of description prevents the matter being investigated further.

He just doesn't want the aggro or criticism, and prob (imo) thinks that he'll get away with that bcs the grandmother was heavily accented.

There is nothing to prevent you reporting what you heard to the police (though they probably won't act) and you should certainly report the conversation that you overheard to the local authority (not sure which bit though - probably leisure) copied to the police and your local MP (simply to show you are serious) and requesting to know whether they approved of the manager's actions and if not, how they planned to deal with the situation.

log your concerns with the public protection team - you contact them via the police service. there may be no visual act but they will be able to monitor anyone who finds swimming pools a risk. offenders living in the community have conditions that they must abide by.

I used to manage a pool in the deep dark days before I became a loving mother.

This was reported on the day it happened and GM was following up right? I'd want to know why the blue blazes the pool had NOT reported it to the police with or without a good description of the offender, it is up to the police to decide on what is or isn't a useful description not the pool manager. Yes, go the police and the local council.

You should report what you overheard to the police. They may only be able to write it down and lock it away but if they same thing happens again at the pool, they now have your bit of evidence. Someone else might phone and report something similar next week. How would you know? But the police will build up a file of reports, accusations and evidence that will eventually end in this person's arrest.

This manager should loose his job.

I have child protection training and I know how important it is not to keep quiet. Also, don't mention the name of the pool or people to anyone other than the police. There are confidentiality issues.

Write down exactly what you heard, word for word if you can remember and exaclty what you saw. Don't put your own opinions in or make asumptions. The police need the facts, exactly as you saw it.

You may be able to do this annonymously (sp)

It absolutely should be reported to the police. They will give it to their appropriate department and will follow up on it. They can check sex offender registers that live in the area against basic descriptions and MOs. It's definitely worth the effort!

How do any of you know that the manager's attitude wasn't down to the woman being a regular loon who sees peedos in every plant pot? You didn't see the incident, after all. And the OP only heard half the conversation. So the OP rings the nick and says she overheard someone telling the pool manager that a man had been fiddling with her grandson, but she doesn't know the woman's name, the grandson's name, the time the incident occurred or anything about the alleged assailant - oh the police would be thrilled to bits with a call like that.

Please don't let this go - what you are saying is v disturbing. It is even possible that the manager of the pool is in on something and may be playing things down for whatever reason, either that or the "reputation" of the pool he is running. He wants to play it down.

Your post makes me feel really weird, something not quite right here. Please take it further.

solidgoldshaggingbunnies That's why she needs to report exactly what she heard, not what she thinks happened. Like I said, the police might have other bits of the puzzle that we don't know about. NEVER let it go unreported, even it's probably nothing, it could be something the police need to know.

Actually, the police would be fine to get a call like that - as they would then follow up with the pool manager and go from there. And it's not the manager's call to decide if she is a loon or not - report it to the police and let them do their job to follow it up.