Recent discovery about neighbour..

[Lambchop86]

Hi everyone. Just a bit of advice wanted really. We moved into our new home late last year. It was going to be our forever home, however we have discover over the weekend that there is a convicted peadopile living opposite us. We are totally devasted by this news as we have 2 very young children - our minds have gone into overdrive about what we should do.
Can we call the police to ask whether he is being closely monitored / assessed as part of him being on the sex offenders register (since 2017)? Can they tell us anything?
I feel as though our children would be safe, (we don’t let them out of our sight if they are playing on the front garden for example) however we feel uncomfortable even looking at his house now and having to think about him and what he is. The thought of him even glancing at my children makes me feel physically sick.
We also live around 200m from a nursery - the fact that he is allowed to live in such close proximity to a child’s setting seems unbelievable. Will the nursery be aware of him, or should we tell them? There are so many families around us with small children (some neighbouring his garden) - do we have a duty to tell them about him?
We have so many questions, and not sure if most of our questions can be answered but needed to get it off of my chest.
I honestly think we are in shock about the discovery and our emotions are still raw, but most of all I feel sad that the life that we imagined in this house will have this black cloud hanging over it as long as he lives there.
Has anyone had any similar experiences to this? And if so how did you deal with it?Thanks

He’s a revolting individual but unlikely to steal your child from your garden.

You'd be amazed. Read a few cases and historically, these guys have rap sheet. Sentences are short and these guys don't learn. Yes, it's true, they have to live somewhere. Yes, it's true, the devil you know and all that. OP could take precautions thanks to the knowledge in knowing there's a sex offender across the road.
I was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a neighbour between the ages of 9-10, twice in my own front garden. I will say no more about this, but I speak from experience. Kids don't always talk. And these guys don't have a moral compass. What's stopping them from fulfilling their needs? The long arm of the law? Please.
I think you deserve to know the details of the crime(s), OP.

But any pervert can take a child from the garden. Any neighbour could be one and the OP is so busy watching the one across the road, she could miss the one much closer to her own front door. Knowing who he is and what he has done, won’t change that.

I am sorry you were hurt as a child.

Yes, the fact that we are aware of him now and importantly the police have already convicted him (and hopefully keeping tabs on him) rather than having someone like that going undectected is slightly more reassuring.
We will get in touch with the police for some extra guidance on the matter. Thank you all for the response, they’ve been really helpful

The only question here is, would you want the neighbours to tell you if this was reversed? I certainly would.

Yes, we should keep our children safe all the time, but not all risks are equal and having an evolving and informed risk assessment is critical to you taking effective steps to maintain their safety. I work in a security related field, and generic safeguards always fail first.

There are definitely a few high profile cases where the peadophile/abuser had been either convicted or on police radar previously. Roy Whiting (sp?) Ian Huntley are two that spring to mind.

I know we can never 'know' but I would rather know than not know of a near neighbours previous crimes I think.

It's hard, I couldn't afford to move if it was near me either.

I'd install cameras on the front and back of my property as a first measure though I think. And call the police as PPs said, cant harm to ask to speak to them about him.

You can ask the relevant authorities police etc to check that he is complying with any rules that have been placed upon him but they likely won't be able to come back to you. You will probably never know.
In circumstances where he has access to your family which it doesn't sound like he does except for being a neighbour you can run checks under certain laws (Clare's and Sarah's laws being examples of the type of laws I mean)

Depending on His conviction length and severity he will have restrictions based on him and be on the sex offender list (varied lengths depending on sentencing) he may even have a sopo, sexual offence prevention order (like an asbo but for sexual offenders)

He is either

following the rules and restrictions under the sex offenders list/potential sopo in which case he is allowed to be there.

He isn't and breaking the rules (which comes with consequences) the check will highlight that and the relevant body will deal with it. Which could potentially include calling him back to jail or moving him but equally not.

His crime came with a limited term on the offender list which has come to an end which means the restrictions have been lifted and he is allowed to be there.

The honest truth is anyone living in a town or city very very likely lives near a sex offender they just don't know it!
Our responsibility as adults and parents is to teach our younger generations in age appropriate positive ways how to protect themselves, what to do if something happens, to recognise how they feel so they can react to potential situations, to have rights over their bodies etc etc

If children are safely armed without being scared and naturally have certain knowledge about their safety and rights and knowledge on where they can go. Children are vulnerable because we as adults are too scared of ruining them or ruining the world for them by making it too scary for them to give them the skills and knowledge they need to protect themselves. We can do this in ways that feel natural and don't destroy their innocence though.

I can sympathise about you finding this out, and agree it is not very nice that you have a known paedophile living so close, but to put some perspective on it.
Your children would have already been looked at by a paedophile . They can be your postman, your previous next door neighbour , that nice person who always says hi, the person who served you in a cafe.
You just need to be mindful of any potential inter action with him and not show any friendliness.

Did something happen to make you Google his name?

Before becoming concerned about a “peadopile” it might be a good idea to learn to spell the word peadophile.

There is an urban legend about somone who once confused the word pediatrician with peadophile. However I am not so sure now it IS a legend.

I moved into a new house in a family neighbourhood very near to a primary school & nursery about 12 years ago, when my kids were young. After a few weeks Was informed by neighbours about 2 paedophiles living at different addresses close by. I was a bit shocked to start with, but TBH it’s better knowing and talking to your kids about keeping safe, the underwear rule etc. All the local children know to stay away. In my view, unknown predators are more alarming.

By paedophile, do you mean small children or a 15 year old?

I'd say contact police, ask for disclosure via Clares law and also contact social services for advice?

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk/2000/aug/30/childprotection.society

Not an urban legend.

@biglouis Before becoming concerned with pulling someone up on how to spell a word, you may wish to check if you yourself know how to spell it

Baffled by comments like "you can't go around telling everybody" and "It sounds like you want to incite hatred" what is wrong with you? Do you sympathise with paedophiles?

Damn right I would be telling people, they are monstrous and given the fact he has been convicted that makes him incredibly dangerous. It shows he is an active sex abuser. It's not as though he is a celibate individual who is trying to get help. 2017 is three years ago and these people do not change.

Inciting hatred? Again absolutely I would hope neighbours do hate him. If he was our neighbour he wouldn't be there for very long because we would make sure of it.

Like hell I would rest easy knowing we had one of them living metres away from our children.

I wouldn’t want to live near him either! I don’t see why you shouldn’t tell your neighbours that you are friends with; you don’t owe him a duty of care, you don’t owe him confidentiality, the information is in the public domain so why shouldn’t you talk about it?

Have you read the book Acid Row by Minette Walters? An interesting parallel with this post I think, even though its fictional.

OP for what its worth at least you know he is a danger to your children.

Before he committed the crime he also was a danger but probably nobody knew yet. Better have one living near you that you're aware of

Do you sympathise with paedophiles?

Don’t be so bloody ridiculous! We just don’t want the OP to behave like some sort of stupid, arrogant vigilante. The creep hasn’t been near her kids and unless she suspects that he is abusing another shops, then she’s best taking the sensible option and keeping her own kids safe. Even perverts need to live somewhere (unfortunately they’re not jailed for life) and it’s a nonsense to suggest running them out of an area.

Sorry posted too soon.

Better have one living near you that you're aware of that he is a threat then having one living near you that has never been convicted and is a risk that you're not aware of!

Unfortunately there everywhere so likely if you move there be one not so far away your now aware which is better in away as you no to now keep your distance from him an bring kids in if you see him out. Imagine not knowing an actually becoming friendly with him. I'd rather know an keep my distance than not know

And also, as others have said, just because someone has not been convicted it doesn't mean they're not pedo's. Always watch out for your children and be aware that there's always risks even from a neighbour that seems innocent but you don't know Well enough.

Do you sympathise with paedophiles?

Don’t be so bloody ridiculous!

I apologise, that was an inappropriate remark for me to make. It is a triggering subject and they make me incandescent.

@Elephantonascooter if it’s a court report then it won’t be wrong. Journalists have a legal duty to present a fair and accurate report of proceedings in court and local newspapers in particular take this responsibility very seriously.

Not all paedophiles receive prison terms.

There are no restrictions on where they can live, however close to children or schools.

OP from my extensive experience of court reporting, there are many such offenders living in every community. You should just be thankful you know where this one is. Just be vigilant.

Do you sympathise with paedophiles?

Of course I don't. Just because I am urging caution that means I must sympathise with them?!

I'm not sure whipping people up in to a frenzy, and possible mob violence (the inciting hatred comment I made above) is the solution to this situation though.

I can't believe the things people have said about my comment/me on this thread. Thanks a bunch.