Hello I'm looking for some advice on a moral dilemma I'm currently having. This is not a troll btw! I#m a regular poster under another name but I'd rather keep this enquiry anonymous for reasons you will see.

I live in a set of flats and last year had problems with my immediate next door neighbour – his door is only about 4ft directly opposite mine – playing his music loudly at antisocial hours. HAving confronted him once and bearing the brunt of his aggrssion and intimidation I had to call the police a number of times. He had a history of assaulting the council noise team so the police always attended in their place.

So it came to head at the start of December last year when I had to call the police out twice in one night. The upshot was that on 2nd visit he was arrested. I got a visit from the police a few weeks back saying that when they were in his flat they found a massive stash of "indecent images" (i.e. child porn) on his computer. I am to be a witness in court in a few weeks.

The dilemma is that my upstairs neighbour sent a letter round all of us asking if we had any objections to him converting the roof space to allow his children to stay with him more often, as he did not want to leave the area to find a bigger place. He is unaware that a (admitedly alleged) paedophile is sharing a stairwell with him. If I was a parent and I found out about this guy I'd go mental and be looking to move. But right now he's not convicted and of course in this country you're innocent til proven guilty. I'm moving out soon (before court case) and I think objections had to be lodged by now. Maybe an anonymous note? At the end of the day I think its really none of my business and I shouldn't get involved any further – the guy is likely going to get convicted because of me getting the police round so in a way I've already done my bit. Thoughts?

Thanks.

You are not currently under instruction from a judge not to discuss the case, go and have a private chat with your neighbour.

"indecent images" are not necessarily of children so unless you were specifically told they were you can't be sure?

I'm not sure that who your neighbours are/might be should stop you having your children to stay either – I guess this person isn't perticularly freindly with anyone else in the block given their behaviour.

I'd be open with the person who's proposign the loft conversion about the pending court case and let them make their own mind up. Do it in person, not in a letter.

Tell the neighbour exactly what you know, nothing that is an assumption (ie, if you weren't actually told they were pics of children, don't even say that you think they may have been) and let him make his own mind up.

But let's be practical here – if he has indecent images that the police have taken an interest in, they aren't gonna be 'innocent' movies of Pammie sucking on Tommy Lee's python are they?

Hello I'm looking for some advice on a moral dilemma I'm currently having.

….and you came to STW?

What does 'indecent images' mean, and why would the police be searching his PC for a noisy neighbour issue? It could be all above board, wholesome tentacle porn, so it would be wrong to shop an upstanding member of the community on this basis.

If it's kids, then yeah you should maybe say something. Don't see why you will need to if he's up in court for it, won't the polis be throwing the book at him for it?

The police were called to his flat to investigate a complaint about noise and they searched his computer?

I was told by the police to be discrete about this as it was likely to get media attention. I don't want my (decent) neighbour trying to 'out' him or somesuch before he's been convicted (or not).

And sure the guy's not a threat to anyone directly in the stairs, but if I had kids I still wouldn't want that creep near them.

Just cut out the middleman, write to the Daily Mirror / Sun / Mail and set up a flaming torch and pitchfork stall at the end of the street.

Problem solved, and you make a small fortune.

If it was me I'd thank you for having a quiet word with me before I spent money converting anything.

"told by the police to be discrete about this"

telling one neighbour about your concerns isn't being indiscrete, imo.

as per M_F tell them what you know as a fact not any speculations you may have.

why are people concerned about the police finding indecent images rather than the indecent images themselves. I am not sure what kind of consensual hetro/homosexual porn you would need to have to end up in court for it. I would suspect the images involved either scences of rape, animals or children perhaps serious S & M to end up with a charge.
I would inform the neighbour and let them decide what they wish to do.

The police were called to his flat to investigate a complaint about noise and they searched his computer?

…and then they came back to you and told you what they found?

Curiouser and curiouser.

Neighbour will Shirley find out on conviction.

Innocent until proven guilty, once you start navigating around that you're treading muddy water. Indecent doesnt necessarily mean child porn. They'd have no reason to check his computer for a noise issue so unless it was on display (I can't imagine even the most stupid paedophile inviting the police in with images on display) and the police have asked you to keep it quiet.

While I can see why you'd want to, I don't think telling them is the best option for anyone.

…and then they came back to you and told you what they found?
Curiouser and curiouser

seems odd to me too – if they've found images on his pc, and that's what he's going to court for, why would they need you to inform the court that he plays his music too loud ?
(especially as they've surely got a record of the prior call-outs)

Aye – something in the tale does not add up to me either.

Isn't asking for permission to convert his loft and telling him theres a 'suspected' paedophile living in the same block two separate issue anyway?

I'd…
a) raise no objection to his building plans.
b) It depends on the nature of the neighbours kids visits as to whether I'd tell him. If he lets them play unsupervised in the block of flats then I probably would tell him. If they just stay within his flat and only go out with him then probably not.

You pay a shared annual maintenance charge? How would his amendement to the building affect your annual charge? What if he made a mess of the roof and it leaked. He'd go to the management company and ask them for additional money from everyone?

Ok. So who do we think the OP is? Obviously the mods know as they can match the posters IP to a current user, but us mere mortals do not have that ability

Indeed. What exactly are you a witness to? You didn't know anything about it until the police told you..

"It could be all above board, wholesome tentacle porn" – LOL! agreed.

Seriously though, unless he had the images hung up on strings round his room things do not add up.

And would the police tell you that fact? Surely not.. it can't be standard practice to do that especially if they want to keep it quiet.

I say troll! .. infact I say Ton 😉

Just too many oddities for it to be genuine, shame it had the potential to really run with a bit more thought.

😀

"Aye – something in the tale does not add up to me either. " and other related posts – I don't have time at work to post up all the details, sorry!

edit "Just too many oddities for it to be genuine" lol! Genuine, I assure you!

I smell sheeeeeiiiiiiiiitttttttttteeeeeee with added essence of bull.

You are a troll and i claim my £5.

I got a visit from the police a few weeks back saying that when they were in his flat they found a massive stash of "indecent images" (i.e. child porn) on his computer. I am to be a witness in court in a few weeks.

Can you explain what you were actually a witness too? Are you in court to say 'yes he does live at the house where these images were found', as clearly you would seem to have nothing else to contribute to the prosecution.

Can you explain a wee bit more becuase at the moment you seem to be a witness to something you knew nothing about untill the police advised you.

I assume he would be a character witness?

Talking to your neighbours is rarely a bad thing, even when you don't have anything important to say.

This is weird! So you make a complaint to police .. about what?
what did the arrest him for? this is rubbish! Hey they went around about a noise issue (who knows!) then seized his computer, told you to be discrete and if it's going to court it would be in teh public domain!

Troll if ever I've heard one!

Erm would the police confiscate music equipment? Ie computer
perhaps the neighbor was happily fapping away when the police came a knocking?