child snatch attempt: UPDATE suspect taken into custody

[Administrator]

I have received the following in an email and it has been requested that the details of the person who sent it remain confidential, I trust you will understand why. Take it from me that this person and their details are true and correct.

"I was extremely distressed to read that people were doubting that the incident on Monday night was true. My daughter was the child who was grabbed by the man and therefore am 100% squire that it really happened. I know it is hard to be believe that something so awful could happen in leafy Dulwich but it did. She and her friend were incredibly sensible and brave bearing in mind the traumatic circumstances.

Just because something doesn't make the news doesn't mean that it isn't true.

I would appreciate it if you could post this on the forum..."

[Asset]

Apparently when incidents of this type occur the council sends a letter out to all schools in the area to make them aware of it.

[TillieTrotter]

I know exactly what you're saying and I pray God that I never have to deal with my kids being run over or that I would run over a kid, but to me they arent in the same moral league. One is pure intent and the other COULD BE an accident. Of course, if a driver was smashed out of his/her head and run over a kid then that is murder. Do you see what I'm saying??

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

Sean

Well the thread got off to a bad start with Louisa's intervention, so its probably made people a bit more defensive than they should have been. I don't know why there hasn't been more information released about this, my gut feeling though would be to stop the kind of hysteria that these situations often create. Especially as, until very recently it seemed like an isolated incident.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

DPF - I hope my post won't upset anyone, but I'd like to clear up a misconception. This is not usually about mental illness as far as I can see, although maybe the sad f***s who download it might be considered mentally ill, but the kidnap and abuse is most often part of organised crime. I used to work for a solicitors doing outdoor clerking, before and during my degree, and one of the clients we had to defend, as part of a big sting. He was a sad, disgusting peado who had been caught with downloads of kids (including babies) being raped.

He pleaded guilty to having the stuff (had no choice really) and distributing it on one of those P2P sites but tried to say he was trying to gather evidence for the police, so we had to do what is called a Newton Hearing, sort of like a trial to see if his excuse was valid. I had to read his file and interview him in a tiny room at the courts, and I would have had to sit through the actual downloads at the Newton Hearing if I hadn't called in sick. Just reading the file and talking to the sick c**t traumatised me but finding out about how organised the abuse is was even more traumatising.

If it was just about sick peados (who in this case look like a typical sick peado) it would possibly be easier to spot, but knowing that the people snatching the kids often are part of a criminal gang is what scares me.

[snorky]

Im sure what the Copper said to CWALD was said in good faith, but ( I may raise some hackles here ) The average plod isnt too bright usually and if he had any sense, this one should not have made such a sweeping and worrying statement.

Very very very few kids in the West are snatched for these purposes - this shockingly rare - put yourself in an abusers grimy shoes- why go out in public with all the risks it involves when there are so many other ways you can achieve your aims within the structure of a dysfuinctional family unit ? - percentages differ, but we must all know that the vast majority of abuse goes on within the family itself - maybe not blood relations, but often with the explicit or implicit agreement of the parent/s.The Gary Glitter stuff mentioned was invariably from overseas and usually with the knowledge of the parent/s - but thats a different issue of course

If this did happen in ED , then you must put it in perspective and realise how rare and unlikely it is to happen - however dstasteful it may seem - statistically, we are safer now than we have ever been with regard to this type of public act - as mentioned, whispering and rumour dont help things

um.

[Brendan]

Well it has hapened in ED and I think it would be prudent for us to keep our eyes open for the next while and stay in touch with the police to keep up with any developments.

[TillieTrotter]

In that vein CWLD, I used to work in a social work department and often had to minute case conferences and my God, the things I heard still haunt me a decade or so later. I think that branding every paedo as mentally ill gives them to much leaway when it comes to prosecuting these cases. IMO!!

[TillieTrotter]

Also, this is what made me SOOO angry earlier this week when people doubted this and treated it as scaremongering, as I imagined being the mother of that child and reading some of the posts on here!

[snorky]

No one is dismissing this out of hand and no one is dismissing this as scaremongering.

[TillieTrotter]

Unfortunately Snorks, they were and the Admin had the good sense to remove those posts.

[SeanMacGabhann]

As I had written in a previous post that perhaps some friends might have been playacting I should make it 100% clear that I am sorry for any distress caused to the parent in question - She has my every sympathy in what must have been a very worrying time for the whole family and I'm glad the girls in question are safe

Tillie - I see absolutely what you are saying. There is no moral equivalence - but there is probability to take into account as well

CWALD's account is more troubling still. As a child growing up in a small town I was approached on at least 3 occassions by different adults. One was notorious locally as a very strange man indeed and all children were warned about him but he was tolerated in the community because .. well I'm not sure. He didn't go out of his way to attack or abduct anyone and was obviously unwell but I think people had an eye on him so it was ok.

On other occassions it was the sneaky, pillar-of-the-community types who would wait for a suitable moment at a wedding or function to see if you were "susceptible" - they were far worse than the porr lost sould already mentioned

But reading CWALD's account was horrible (not your fault CWALD - appreciate the info). It's one thing to be aware that this sort of thing goes on but to have to actually deal with it requires a stronger consitution than I possess..

How best to tackle it however I'm not so sure... Having a media that won't cooperate because it's "small potatotes" can't be a help mind you

[TillieTrotter]

Sean, you are such a Gent and always come up smelling of roses. :))

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

It's in the South London Press

http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200southlondonheadlines/tm_headline=curly%2Dhaired-creep-grabs-10%2Dyear%2Dold%26method=full%26objectid=19374967%26siteid=50100-name_page.html

[hernehiller]

All

This did happen I think. I live on Frankfurt Road and my wife is at home on maternity leave. She was having a meeting with a builder and they suddenly heard screams, it took them a minute or two to realise something was going on and after 5 minutes 2 police cars turned up outside a house a few along from us. My wife thought it was some sort of domestic thing at the house, but clearly this is what it could have been. There are a lot of school kids who walk up and down our road.

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Just got a letter from my daughter's school (not the Dulwich Hamlets one) warning us to watch our kids to and from school, so it looks like everyone is taking this seriously. The one I mentioned at Elephant last year (that was a man and a woman incase anyone is interested) didn't get the same response, I think you ED guys are pretty good at making people take notice.

[snorky]

I stand corrected in this case..

cheers

[clare]

Goodrich school got a letter today about the incident-from the Deputy Director, Children's Service- Education.

[Scruffy Mummy]

Violence against girls and women is sadly an everyday experience - a friend of mine's 13 year old daughter (in the South East but not in this area) was walking home in the early evening and was dragged into a field by 4 blokes who intended to rape her. Micralously, she managed to struggle free and escape. Most violence against children and teenagers (girls and boys) is carried out by people they know (i.e. family members, boyfriend, etc)- and cases of domestic violence, sexual abuse in the home,rarely make the news. That doesn't mean it isn't important or didn't happen. Rape and sexual assault by strangers does happen as well - although isn't as common as abuse/violence within the home. Again, sadly, unless something takes the story 'out of the ordinary' the press won't cover it.

[mumra]

The incident that Betty123 mentioned was an attempt by the same person (exact same description-ginger hair 20-30, small goatee) I have heard on Wednesday near Rosendale School. This time he was in a car though.... Again, not scaremongering, but passing the message on.

[Asset]

Update on the situation:

Friend witnessed plain clothes police grappling with a man outside the Charter school this morning, police van screamed up and he was bundled in. My friend asked the police if this is the guy relating to the incidents and they said yes.

It's good to know that the police were taking this seriously and were staking out the schools.

Let's hope they can actually put him away.

[DaveR]

If this is accurate, thank god. There were at least three previous incidents, at Hamlet, Rosendale and Charter, and I understand there may have been at Alleyns as well - some friends who have a daughter at Alleyns and live near Rosendale say police were doing house-to-house enquiries last Friday.

[Lucyl]

Do you reckon we can let our kids walk to school on their own again? I just called the police to confirm that the person arrested was the same guy which was a bit useless and silly of me really as offcourse they couldnt tell me anything. Do we assume that they've got the guy now?

[Asset]

British justice system - innocent util proven guilty. I suppose the poor kids are going to have to do a positive ID on him before any charges can be brought. Unless he is already known to the police and shouldn't be near schools.

He fitted the description though according to the person who saw it this morning and I suppose the police wouldn't have jumped on him unless they were fairly sure. He may have tried something and they were watching. Apparently he put up a fight.

[Keef]

Not surprised he put up a fight, the sick git would have known that he was f**ked as soon as he saw the police, and was probably thinking about all the beatings he will hopefully receive in jail when it gets out that he's a dirty nonce!