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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Sex offenders free to abuse children after changing ID

77 replies

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 22/07/2021 11:01

Times:
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sex-offenders-free-to-abuse-children-after-changing-id-bpdlx59p0

I know a while ago a MNer did some hard work chasing the DBS people about if changing name / sex created a loophole.

And yes, yes it does.

In the most serious cases men barred for life from working with children used their new name to gain employment in schools and homes where they committed multiple further offences.

One, who worked as an au pair, was jailed last year after police in Belgium uncovered a paedophile ring with nine million child abuse images. Another is in custody in Spain suspected of abusing 36 young girls at a school.

Both were British teachers convicted of child abuse and placed on the sex offenders register. Each changed his name by deed poll, acquired a passport and in one case clearance from the disclosure and barring service (DBS) to work with children. The Times has been shown a copy of the DBS certificate.

A source close to the DBS said it was aware of cases in which registered sex offenders had, by changing their name, gained DBS certificates clearing them to work with children. It wanted to find a way to “close this loophole”.

Sarah Champion, the Rotherham MP, has been urging the government to close “this gaping hole in safeguarding”. The Home Office announced this month a “time-limited review” of name changes “to better understand whether current processes are being exploited”.

Potential solutions include placing a digital marker on the files of all registered sex offenders at the DVLA and the passport office, or to remove the do-it-yourself option for the name change process.

OP posts:
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MrsOvertonsWindow · 24/07/2021 18:23

Great to have all this damning information in the same place. For when all the pleas of "we had no idea" come in.

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Thelnebriati · 23/07/2021 23:45

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

''Nearly three-quarters of sex offenders on the official register have been allowed to "remove themselves" from the list by asking police, according to...a Freedom of Information request''

Being kept on the register for life was said to infringe on their human rights.
I don't think you have the first idea. Clean slate my arse.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sex-offenders-register-remove-list-police-a9269566.html
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Aparallaxia · 23/07/2021 22:40

'An honours system'. For men who build their entire lives around getting and keeping access to children. They train as lifeguards, scout leaders, teachers, coaches... all for that one purpose. Yeah. That's really going to work.

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R0wantrees · 23/07/2021 22:14

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

27th February 2021 Mail on Sunday
'Thousands of sex criminals could be working with children – after changing their names for just £15, warns former Home Secretary Sajid Javid
Ex-Home Secretary Sajid Javid calls for changes to tackle child sexual abuse
900 convicted sex offenders have paid £15 to change their names by deed poll
He calls for school nurse revival to make it easier for children to report abuse
(extract)
"Thousands of sex offenders could be working with children because they have changed their names by deed poll to escape detection, according to a hard-hitting new report by former Home Secretary Sajid Javid." (continues)

Alarmingly, the report says at least 900 convicted sex offenders – and possibly thousands – could be operating in jobs that bring them into contact with young people because they have taken the simple expedient of paying £15 to change their names by deed poll.

At no stage is an applicant required to disclose their criminal history – which the report recommends should change.

It says the current stipulation that those on the sex offenders register must tell the police if they change their names within three days of doing so ‘is essentially an honours system with the onus on the individual to keep the police up to date… over 900 offenders may have changed their names without notifying the police and are now living under the radar’

The report adds that as the 900 offenders ‘only represent data released by 16 of the 43 police forces’ then ‘it is likely then that the actual figure is far higher and thousands of registered sex offenders are off the radar.

‘The worst-case scenario outcome is not unfeasible: that some of this number have acquired fresh names and are working or living alongside children. We must locate these individuals and safeguard children they may have access to. We recommend the Home Office commissions an urgent inquiry into this matter.’ (continues)
//www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9410099/Thousands-sex-criminals-working-children-changing-names-warns-Sajid-Javid.html
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R0wantrees · 23/07/2021 22:09

Relevant threads
(from page 2 onwards)
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4208155-The-Times-Law-section-Thursday-1st-April-Trans-judge-wants-a-more-diverse-judiciary?pg=2


www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3690840-Reply-from-Home-Office-re-DBS-and-GRC

The loophole which FWR women (who understand DBS very well) established in the linked thread above relates to those who have obtained a GRC. What many people are unaware of is that the DBS operates a special stream for those who identify as transgender which is available to applicants on the basis of self-id.

As is clear, UK passport sex data is easily changed so employers with Safeguarding responsibility using DBS service may be presented with both Government ID documents and DBS certificate with incorrect sex information as well as limited disclosure of previous names for those employees/ volunteers who self-identify as transgender.

//www.gov.uk/guidance/transgender-applications

2018 Claude Knights (safeguarding expert retired after 15 years as head of Kidscape, CEO of Anti Bullying charity and previously part of Westminster safeguarding committee) on sex offenders who transition and are afforded the opportunity to change their name and hide their history as a consequence & case of "Christopher Noble, 32, transitioned to Christyl Knight while behind bars for keeping a stash of over 4,000 vile pictures and videos of kids as young as six months old"

“Allowing these individuals to hide a secret past is a dangerous practice.”
“Anyone who’s fuelled the vile trade in indecent images of children and therefore contributed to their sexual abuse should not be allowed to change their name.”

//www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3006679/paedophile-jailed-transgender-christyl-knight-christopher-nobile/

Any monitoring loophole that exists will be exploited by predatory sex offenders. Safeguarding/Child Protection principles require that risks once identified are mitigated.

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littlbrowndog · 23/07/2021 20:55

@Delmob40

Thank you for raising this very important safeguarding issue on here 🙏

Both The Safeguarding Alliance and I, have been campaigning on this name change loophole for 4yrs now. We did manage to get 37k signatures on a petition and have now got the Government to agree to a review. However, we absolutely must ensure that The Safeguarding Alliance are on this review panel, for transparency, knowledge and research to be implemented and considered and so that survivors voices are heard.

If we could ask you to write to your MP's please this would help.

You can find the full campaign details here www.thesafeguardingalliance.org.uk/campaign
We're also on twitter under *@DellasLaw @thesafeguarding*

Ta for doing this. Can’t belive we have to say this

Mishi 🥺
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KittenKong · 23/07/2021 20:39

So the fella today - abused children in a nursery where he was working (DRB checked). He’s, what 18 now. Given 14 years - so out in, dunno 7?

So new name and hitting the streets well by the time he is 25. New name and new identity - what’s to stop him?

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TalkingOutYerArse · 23/07/2021 15:16

Will do @Delmob40. Thanks for this brilliant work.

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Delmob40 · 23/07/2021 11:40

Thank you 🙏

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Nonmaquillee · 23/07/2021 11:36

@Delmob40

Thank you for raising this very important safeguarding issue on here 🙏

Both The Safeguarding Alliance and I, have been campaigning on this name change loophole for 4yrs now. We did manage to get 37k signatures on a petition and have now got the Government to agree to a review. However, we absolutely must ensure that The Safeguarding Alliance are on this review panel, for transparency, knowledge and research to be implemented and considered and so that survivors voices are heard.

If we could ask you to write to your MP's please this would help.

You can find the full campaign details here www.thesafeguardingalliance.org.uk/campaign
We're also on twitter under *@DellasLaw @thesafeguarding*

Thank you for this information. I’m going to contact my MP. I’m just horrified at this “loophole”.
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Comingoutfighting · 23/07/2021 11:23

This reply has been deleted

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Delmob40 · 23/07/2021 11:06

Thank you for raising this very important safeguarding issue on here 🙏

Both The Safeguarding Alliance and I, have been campaigning on this name change loophole for 4yrs now. We did manage to get 37k signatures on a petition and have now got the Government to agree to a review. However, we absolutely must ensure that The Safeguarding Alliance are on this review panel, for transparency, knowledge and research to be implemented and considered and so that survivors voices are heard.

If we could ask you to write to your MP's please this would help.

You can find the full campaign details here www.thesafeguardingalliance.org.uk/campaign
We're also on twitter under @DellasLaw @thesafeguarding

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Deliriumoftheendless · 23/07/2021 09:08

OMG Pumpkin Spice Cervix Haver sees a thread about child abusers and immediately thinks it’s about trans people 😮

No wonder people think MN is transphobic with transphobes like that posting here.

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DdraigGoch · 23/07/2021 08:05

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

It would be pretty redundant to say that, given that the title of this thread is "Sex offenders free to abuse children after changing ID" and that the OP and almost all of the comments follow a similar vein.

No one said anything about it being specific to trans sex offenders. At least until PumpkinSpiceWoman turned up and started projecting...
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EmpressWitchDoesntBurn · 23/07/2021 08:03

I’m still waiting for either MishyJDI or PumpkinSpiceWoman to say whether they think sex offenders who want to transition should be exempt.

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AfternoonToffee · 23/07/2021 08:02

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

Yet again, it is posters such as you who are making this a trans issue. I guess this is the obvious result of the board split, there can be no general discussion, just a presumption of being "anti-trans".

However if you can't or won't see how self-id will be exploited then there is little point in pointing it out.
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Nonmaquillee · 23/07/2021 07:48

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz

This is staggering.

And yet we're accused on here daily of hysteria when it's discussed. Transphobic for worrying about the repercussions for kids. Bigots because we assume anyone looking to self ID could be a predator. Because apparently no one's going to go to this much trouble to get access to kids.

And then they do.

But the feelings of a few (mainly adult men) are more important.

Angry

Absolutely my feelings too.

It beggars belief. It’s sickening.

Known offenders SHOULD NOT be allowed to change ID. Ever.
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DdraigGoch · 23/07/2021 07:47

*were. Bloody autocucumber.

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DdraigGoch · 23/07/2021 07:46

@ArabellaScott

AFAIR, the response from DBS was that criminals were responsible for reporting any crimes committed under their old name, MrsOverton, yes.

We're there any consequences (fines etc.) for failure to disclose?
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EmpressWitchDoesntBurn · 23/07/2021 07:26

Once again it is male violence that is to blame. Against trans women, who don't feel safe in male spaces, so they feel their only option is the women's spaces.

They never bothered to ask the women how we felt about our spaces becoming mixed sex & thus less safe for us though, did they?

If Press for Change, Stonewall et al had focused their campaign on male violence & transpeople being safe in the spaces for their own sex, we wouldn’t be having this fight now. We could all have been on the same side.

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SourAppleChew · 23/07/2021 00:48

Once again it is male violence that is to blame. Against trans women, who don't feel safe in male spaces, so they feel their only option is the women's spaces.

Bit of a stretch IMO. I'm not sure I even believe it's about safety so much as affirmation (but safety is a great reason to hide behind).

The deed poll thing is disgraceful though.

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TalkingOutYerArse · 22/07/2021 23:51

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

Bit of both, as 'things that never happen' proves.
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EmpressWitchDoesntBurn · 22/07/2021 22:28

@MishyJDI

I guess it would be pointless to say this is men who are sex offenders changing their name by deed poll for a clean slate, rather than trans people. Anyone can change their name legally by deed poll. Nothing to do with self id from what I can see.

The question is whether any sex offender should be allowed to do this, trans or otherwise.
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