Should child abusers have signs outside their house?

[goldencup]

I have a sad little story re this.  There is a bench on the seafront about 50 metres from where my grandfather used to live.  He could just about walk that far and used to sit on it admiring the view and chatting to passers by.  One day a little boy came along who was running ahead of his mother and started a conversation with him.  The mother came rushing up and shouted furiously at my grandfather.  What did she think an old man like him was going to do, especially when she was only a few yards behind the child?  My grandfather was devastated, never went to the bench again and in fact died a couple of months later.  I'm convinced the incident was a contributory factor.

[bounty hunter]

Oh dear what a sad story

[oldspice]

It is indeed very sad. Why don't people use their common sense?

[paulham]

A lot of people don't have any.

[smurfboy]

It's easy to say when you know someone and know very well they wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone a child - it's not so easy when you're a parent who doesn't know the person from Adam. 'Common sense' would dictate that two children would be safe with a teaching assistant they trust and her boyfriend who is the caretaker at the same school. Do the names Maxine Carr and Ian Huntley ring any bells?

[bounty hunter]

A fact pertinent to this is that Humberside Police knew about Huntley's record and failed to pass it on to Norfolk.  Furthermore, the behaviour of a few individuals shouldn't be automatically assumed to be typical of random individuals

[smurfboy]

I didn't say it should be assumed - I don't think that at all. What I AM saying is that it could be just as dangerous to assume someone is nice and friendly just because they appear that way st first glance.

[bounty hunter]

I feel a bit of a ping-pong effect with this thread and that's nobody's fault.  It's a very difficult subject to cover properly like this.

[smurfboy]

Indeed. (Was that a ping or a pong? )