Police condemn hate campaign

Campaign of hate – posters have been taped inside phone boxes and bus
stops and left on car windscreens. The name and address on the poster
has been masked by the County Times.

Published Date: 14 November 2008

POLICE are hunting a mystery leaflet dropper who has branded an
innocent man a paedophile in a 'malicious' campaign of hate across
Horsham.

Detectives have been scouring CCTV footage in the search for the
person who has pasted phone boxes and bus stops with posters wrongly
accusing a local man of being a registered and active child molester
who has been allowed back into the community.

The unfounded statement says: "As concerned members of the community
we are warning you of the danger to your children."

Hundreds of the flyers have been left on the windscreens of cars
parked across Horsham town centre.

But police said an investigation involving public protection officers,
neighbourhood police teams and neighbourhood specialist teams had
unearthed no evidence that any of the allegations were based on fact.

A Horsham CID spokeswoman criticised the posters as groundless,
defamatory literature.

She said: "Members of the public are being deceived by such malicious
information, which does not serve a useful or a helpful purpose within
our community."

PC Terry Price, of the Horsham Neighbourhood Specialist Team, said it
looked as though the material had been distributed by somebody with a
vendetta against the man, whose name and full address were included on
the posters.

Detectives are keen to talk to anyone who knows who could be
responsible.

If you have any information call DS Mark Dennett-Thorpe on 0845 60 70
999 quoting reference 828 of October 31.

http://www.wscountytimes.co.uk/news/...ign.4695951.jp

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