MISSING CONVICTED CHILD SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED AFTER MOST WANTED APPEAL
6 Sep 2010 11:25 AM
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre has again seen the power of its Most Wanted website – www.ceop.police.uk/wanted - with the arrest today of the 21st convicted offender to be posted. This brings the total number of offenders arrested since the site was launched in 2006 to 19. They had been missing for a combined total of over 55 years.
Fraser Benjamin MCLAUGHLIN, 57, of Hamilton, Scotland was today arrested by the Garda in Dublin. The arrest was a direct result of a member of the public using the website and reporting their suspicions. McLaughlin’s details were posted on the site on Friday of last week.
McLaughlin had last been seen boarding a ferry from Hamilton to Northern Ireland earlier this year. In addition to breaching his Sexual Offenders Register notification requirements, an offence which carries up to five years in prison, McLaughlin was also wanted for failing to answer bail in relation to previous child abuse image offences. McLaughlin had been missing for some months. He is the second Scottish offender to be posted on the site.
Jim Gamble is CEO of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre:
“Once again we prove that the public are willing and able to help locate convicted missing child sex offenders. If McLaughlin thought he could hide then he is tonight learning a lesson. My message to other convicted offenders who think they can also go missing is to look at this story and give themselves up as they too may find their details posted on our site.
“I encourage anyone out there whether working with children, or just wanting to help keep them safe, to register for updates at www.ceop.police.uk/wanted so that together we can continue this success story and make children safer wherever they may be”.
Detective Inspector David Tassie of Strathclyde Police continues: “Strathclyde Police has been working closely with partners in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland to trace Fraser McLaughlin and I am delighted that we now have a result.”
Last week, Keith Raymond VINCENT - also known as James ANDREW - was arrested by officers at Salisbury Police Station having been missing for 6 years.
Vincent, 66, had been wanted by police for failing to comply with his requirements on the Sex Offenders Register and had been on CEOP’s Most Wanted website since March 2009.
He was charged with five counts of making indecent photographs, one count of possessing indecent images and three counts of failing to comply with notification requirements while on the Sex Offenders Register, after appearing at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Wednesday 25th August 2010.
He was sentenced on 2 September 2010 to serve 20 weeks in prison for failure to notify and 20 weeks consecutively for indecent image offences.
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre Press Office on 0870 000 3434, Strathclyde Police on 0141 532 2658 or Wiltshire Police on 0845 408 7000
Members of the public can safely help locate 'missing' offenders by viewing photos and descriptions via the CEOP and Crimestoppers websites. If they recognise someone they are urged to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or the local police force.
Members of the public can register to receive updates on new offenders posted on the website by visiting www.ceop.police.uk/wanted
The initiative to publish details of some of the UK's child sex offenders forms a key element of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre's approach to tracking and bringing child sex offenders to account. All individuals published on the site are sought because they have subsequently failed to fulfil their requirements as part of their placement on the Sex Offenders Register.
Photographs of offenders will only be published with the consent of the local police force.
Forces are under no obligation to publish their offenders on the Most Wanted site. Further offenders will be considered for inclusion on the 'Most Wanted' site in consultation with local police forces.
The decision to publish the details of all offenders detailed on the site has been risk assessed by the CEOP Centre and relevant local forces.
The CEOP Centre works in both online and offline environments to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.police.uk
Outstanding offenders currently on the CEOP Wanted website are:
- Jason Elton John WALLER, 33, from Plymouth. Waller is described as 5’8”tall and overweight with light brown, short receding hair. He haspreviously had a moustache and beard, and speaks with a West Country accent. He is known to live a nomadic lifestyle across many parts of the UK including Cornwall, Devon, Basingstoke, Kent, Cardiff, Brighton, London, Bangor, Guildford and Cheltenham. He has been missing from the Plymouth area since March 2009.
- Stephen Mark CLARE, approx 40 years old. Clare was last known to have resided in the Newcastle upon Tyne area. He is 5' 10”, of slim build, brown hair, has a Midlands accent and a scar on the inside of his left shin. He has previously had connections with the Bromsgrove area of West Midlands and in Brighton, East Sussex. However it is assessed as likely that he could be abroad.