Is it legal or morally right to tell other people about someone else's criminal record?

[M08my]

I'll try to keep this vague because I don't want to be identified.

I've just found out that someone I know (not a close friend) is a convicted paedophile. Done very harmful and disturbing stuff. Found it reported in a local newspaper. I'm sickened because he's offered to babysit for me before (we refused). He's got a suspended sentence so isn't in prison.

We aren't close but we have some mutual friends who are closer, including his best friend. If we tell them, is that breaching his (the paedophile's) right to privacy? It is reported in a local newspaper for anyone to see, but isn't a famous case, chances are they'd never see it if we didn't tell. None of the other friends have kids.

My instinct is I want people to be told. I wouldn't tell his employer, just closest friends. But I'm not sure what's right.

I'm a bit emotional about it (mostly angry and scared).

That’s not the issue. The newspaper will be correct in that a Joe Bloggs of Anytown was convicted of a sex offence. But since it’s a common name, how does the OP know her Joe Bloggs is the same Joe Bloggs in the newspaper article?

You can ring the stop it now helpline for advice. I would consider all the people that might be affected by your actions first. Including the offender's family/ children who are also victims. Is anyone currently in any danger? What is the risk? Do you know much about the offence. Newspapers print in a very salacious way when the offences can be very wide ranging as can the reasons for offending. If there is a actual safeguarding issue then that is worth taking into consideration but if this is anger and revenge then think about who you are serving. Get professional advice rather than take vigilante action. There will be a lot of professional services around the offender assessing risk and telling those who is need to know.

I think you need to:

• be certain that this is the same man. Unless there was a picture in the article as this is a common name there might still be the possibility that this is not him
• speak to the police. Tell them this man offered to babysit and you are concerned that after you researched his background he might be the convicted padophile referred to in the press and that he is again trying to have access to kids. This means they will speak to him about breaching the term of his probation and he will find himself back in jail...

There have been instances where the press printed the wrong address or other details and perfectly innocent people have been targeted.

Our local news paper reports as mr/mrs x of y street, town has been convicted of … and sentenced to …

this makes it very easy to know who if you know them.

I would make sure it is the right person though before you tell people. If you definitely know for sure tell them

If you are absolutely sure it is the right person, then hell yes.

There is no right to privacy to breach, as a convicted paedophile. The fact that he offered to babysit for you knocks me sick. Tell who you feel it's approriate to tell, you've no moral obligation to keep quiet to make him comfortable, or his supporters.

Thank you all for your responses! I'm surprised you're mostly all of the "yes, tell them" camp

-it's definitely him. There were enough details in the article to be sure. And we are sure for other reasons that I'd rather not say as I'm scared he'll see this post (irrational I know). It is him.

-the babysitting offer was over a year ago and he was only convicted last week. None of us except his wife ever guessed there was anything wrong with him until the conviction was reported in the paper. (The wife always knew it seems and might even be "in on it".) So I don't know what good it would do to report the babysitting offer.

-like I said, no one else has kids in our circle so we wouldn't be telling people for that reason. It's more of an instinctive "yuck, stay away from him cos he's a dangerous creep". Friends meeting up with him on a weekly basis, not knowing.

I'm feeling reassured that most people wouldn't judge me for telling, even if it's not what you would do.

Please report his offer to babysit - it might not do any good but that's for the professionals aware of the details of his case to investigate and judge. Never ever stop reporting someone because you don't think it matters or will count. It could be the tiny piece of a larger jigsaw they need.

As for telling your friend I would be furious if I found out you knew allowed me to have my children the vicinity of this man. As another poster said, he lost all rights on conviction. I speak from very bitter experience when a 'friends' husband was convicted and she stood by him and didn't think we had a right to know.

Thank you (and all the other responses, can't quote them all), for understanding how I feel. It's the kind of potentially near-miss aspect that's shaken me a lot. His wife knew and invited us to spend the day with them at their house, some months ago. So I've unknowingly taken my toddler into a paedophile's house (as it happens, I never left her out of my sight because she was scared of their cat, but I could have done!) I'm so angry and sad.

Obviously I'm really sad for those other children who were harmed. But my mama bear instinct has got all fired up about my own dd.

I would be telling the police about the babysitting offer, tbh.

I have no idea about the issues around right to privacy etc. But, if I had kids and spent time around this person, I'd absolutely want to know...

If he was only convicted last week, and the news story is recent, then it comes under news not gossip imo. I'd send the mutual friends the link, with a short note along the lines of "you may already know this, but we thought you would want to be informed if not".

Not only is the conviction a matter of public record, it’s one of the main reasons why it’s a matter of public record. Convictions are published to discourage reoffending, so as long as the conviction isn’t spent and you only pass on the details of that have been released (including any reporting from legitimate sources) then you’re covered.

It's a matter of public record and you didn't find out about it in a way which would impose a legal or moral duty of confidentiality.

You're completely legally and morally entitled to share the information with whoever you think might be interested, just like I'm entitled to say "MP Imran Ahmad Khan was recently jailed for sexual assault" (no subtext, just the first criminal conviction that leapt to mind).

OK I think you must all be right, it's never occurred to me to tell the police about that! I might call the non urgent police number today. Thank you all for your advice (again I'm just quoting one pp but I appreciate lots have said the same)

This sounds really harsh and potentially a bit right wing (sorry) but if I can do anything to get his sentence unsuspended, I'll do that. Lock em up. I didn't used to be like this, but since becoming a mum I've become really risk-averse.

Really glad I came here for advice 💛

Ps the mutual friends are mostly my husband's friends and he's the one who's been dithering about whether to tell them (I was the one who said, oh no is that breaching Paedo's privacy). I'm going to tell him I've thought about it and I agree we should tell the friends.

As you say, what if one of the friends was babysitting a nephew or niece and then met up with him? It's not impossible

This has just happened to our friendship group, a variety of different groups all interconnected and different types and level of relationship, mainly all through work. None of us had seen him for a few years. The newspaper article was shared in all the different groups.
it’s a matter of public record. The media are allowed in court for that reason - to tell people.

Had he been arrested and had bail conditions a year ago when he offered to babysit? If not, it won't impact on his suspended sentence surely ?

I'm just trying to imagine how that conversation went about babysitting. I don't think I've ever known a man offer that. Was he suggesting his wife would come as long as well?

If I was your husband's friends I would want to know. The information you are sharing with them is public sphere and not anyway confidential. I would just send them the link to the article and tell them that you thought that it might be of interest.
If it was that they found the article I am sure you would want them to tell you.

I had a similar situation; friend arrested and charged with sexual offences against a minor. I saw quite by chance the news article on the Daily mail online. I sent it to all our mutual friends because I thought it was important that people knew. So yes in your situation I would certainly share it.

Be careful op. I told a so called friend of mine to not allow my relative near her dc.
Police visited me and warned me I could face charges for damaging his chance of rehabilitation..

Yeah it was this sort of thing I was afraid of.

Anyway I've just called 101 and told them about the babysitting thing. The person I spoke to kept getting confused about what I was trying to say, and repeating it back all wrong, but hopefully it'll get passed on in some form.

I suppose not but I just wanted the police to know he's a potential "offline offending" risk as opposed to just online offending. Stupid euphemism really - I mean he might try to access children in real life not just images online, so they should keep an eye on that. I guess

Yeah it was super weird at the time but only I was freaked by it. Yeah the implication was that his wife might help, but he (Paedo) was all like "it's your PND that's stopping you from trusting anyone with your child, you should gradually work up to leaving her overnight with friends". He also kept saying he's got lots of experience with kids and nappies and I assumed he meant nieces and nephews but afterwards it made sinister sense.

Really hope he or his wife don't see this post because they'd know it was me.

Yeah gosh that's basically our situation. Can I ask how did people react? Did they blame you for sharing?