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Dad in travel Lodge bust


PistoldPete2

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/travelodge-cheshire-paedophile-father-karl-pollard-grooming-underage-a8216656.html

 

ridiculous. If travel lodge claim to be serious about suspecting  paedophiles, shouldn't they do more checks, like asking for passports or other id? Which would easily show he was her dad, rather than traumatising them both. Glad to hear they offered a Full refund, but suspect travel lodge will have to pay this guy a hell of a lot more than that for the trauma. 

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2 hours ago, PistoldPete2 said:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/travelodge-cheshire-paedophile-father-karl-pollard-grooming-underage-a8216656.html

 

ridiculous. If travel lodge claim to be serious about suspecting  paedophiles, shouldn't they do more checks, like asking for passports or other id? Which would easily show he was her dad, rather than traumatising them both. Glad to hear they offered a Full refund, but suspect travel lodge will have to pay this guy a hell of a lot more than that for the trauma. 

To be fair, I just stayed at a travel lodge, they didn’t ask me for a passport, and I wouldn’t have expected them to. 

What if he had have been a groomer. They’d have been doing the right thing. 

I’d like to see the exact figures of how many times they’ve got it right, but if it’s more than they’ve got it wrong, then that’s a good thing. I’d rather one or two families go through this trauma, to save many more girls from considerably more trauma, than the staff be scared to speak up when they do suspect something for fear of reprisals. 

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If we have learned anything about these sick people it's that they seem to operate sophisticated rings involving lots of people and get away with it for years.

Booking into a Travelodge doesn't seem to be the brightest idea. And now they know to just book a twin room not a double! 

Find it hard to believe they have prevented crime. Sounds like more knee jerk reaction of the kind that means you can't take pictures at your children's school play/sports day and have to sign in triplicate that their school can use a photo on their website. People finding horror in every corner...I've got kids should I now be worried if I go away with them on my own.?

 

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I agree with @TigerTedd.

A grown man checking in with a 14 year old girl in a double room is bound to look strange. I doubt the same person on reception was the one to book the room for them, and I am surprised on checking in that he didn't ask again if anything more suitable was available.

And then, I am doubtful the police used the words, "We’ve had a call from Travelodge, they believe you are a paedophile grooming underage girls", as soon as they opened the door.

If they did then the police are the ones to blame here not the hotel. I would expect the police to be professional about it, do their checks and be on there way.  It sounds like they were quick and were satisfied that all was in order. I might be wrong but I would imagine the dad questioned why the police were doing what they were doing and that may have led to the use of the word paedophile during the conversation.

I can understand it being embarrassing for both father and daughter, but how would he feel had his daughter actually checked in with an adult who was grooming her and the hotel turned a blind eye?

I have sympathies with the guy for the illnesses his wife and mother have, but its not relevant and is only being used to make travelodge's position look worse.

If this happened to any of us how many of us would run to the press? Not many, I think most of us while being embarrassed would just accept it and get on with it.

And to be honest they probably get it wrong more times than they get it right, if they get it wrong 100 times but get 1 right then its a policy I am all for.

I get what @PistoldPete2 says about ID, and maybe that is something all Hotels could look at if a single adult is staying in a room with a child. Then what if the child doesn't have a passport? Not all will. At 14 probably has no other Photo ID so it makes if difficult.

 

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1 hour ago, Paul71 said:

I agree with @TigerTedd.

A grown man checking in with a 14 year old girl in a double room is bound to look strange. I doubt the same person on reception was the one to book the room for them, and I am surprised on checking in that he didn't ask again if anything more suitable was available.

And then, I am doubtful the police used the words, "We’ve had a call from Travelodge, they believe you are a paedophile grooming underage girls", as soon as they opened the door.

If they did then the police are the ones to blame here not the hotel. I would expect the police to be professional about it, do their checks and be on there way.  It sounds like they were quick and were satisfied that all was in order. I might be wrong but I would imagine the dad questioned why the police were doing what they were doing and that may have led to the use of the word paedophile during the conversation.

I can understand it being embarrassing for both father and daughter, but how would he feel had his daughter actually checked in with an adult who was grooming her and the hotel turned a blind eye?

I have sympathies with the guy for the illnesses his wife and mother have, but its not relevant and is only being used to make travelodge's position look worse.

If this happened to any of us how many of us would run to the press? Not many, I think most of us while being embarrassed would just accept it and get on with it.

And to be honest they probably get it wrong more times than they get it right, if they get it wrong 100 times but get 1 right then its a policy I am all for.

I get what @PistoldPete2 says about ID, and maybe that is something all Hotels could look at if a single adult is staying in a room with a child. Then what if the child doesn't have a passport? Not all will. At 14 probably has no other Photo ID so it makes if difficult.

 

The story was that they didn't have any other rooms. Maybe he booked on line , but it doesn't matter if it's an adult and child shouldn't that require extra checks at the booking stage? just because he's a bloke as well? Would they have been just as suspicious if it was a woman? 

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9 minutes ago, PistoldPete2 said:

The story was that they didn't have any other rooms. Maybe he booked on line , but it doesn't matter if it's an adult and child shouldn't that require extra checks at the booking stage? just because he's a bloke as well? Would they have been just as suspicious if it was a woman? 

My wife’s actually been in a similar situation, I only realised afterwards, so I can speak from some experience. 

Shecwas taking a flight with our daughter, but cos my wife is Latino, but my daughter is whither than white (until she sees the sun, when she tans up lovely, to the bitter reeentment of my sisters), and they have different names on their passports (my wife has her full Peruvian name, on a Peruvian passport, and my daughter has a boring English name, on a British passport), they thought my wife was stealing her or smuggling her or something. She was about 3 or 4 at the time (my daughter, not my wife). 

My wife found it really upsetting that she had to defend herself as being the mother of her own child. 

But, in hindsight, it was a minor inconclvenience, and if it helps stop children who are genuinely being smuggled, then it’s worth it. 

When she got her British passport, she tried to get her British name put on it to prevent future events like this. But they didn’t let her, so she’s still got her full Peruvian name on her British passport. 

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42 minutes ago, PistoldPete2 said:

The story was that they didn't have any other rooms. Maybe he booked on line , but it doesn't matter if it's an adult and child shouldn't that require extra checks at the booking stage? just because he's a bloke as well? Would they have been just as suspicious if it was a woman? 

I know that was in the story but I think i would still have asked on arrival.

Where do you stop if you start asking, all parties that have a minor in them? And what if the names aren't the same? What then?

Do hotel staff have the skills to determine someone is who they say they are?

I still think they acted in an appropriate manner. There is so much press around stuff like this, imagine if it had been a guy having sex with a 14 year old girl and travelodge hadnt bothered? The negative press they would receive would be far worse than this.

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This is sexual discrimination, plain and simple. A man checking in with a 14 year old girl should be treated no differently to a woman checking in with a 14 year old girl... and yet show me any similar cases.

Fact is, you can't go around assuming someone is a pedophile based on their gender. It's not acceptable in this day and age.  And yet people do all the time.  People wonder why there are so few male role models/teachers in primary school... and this is a key factor.  Any man wanting to work around young children is immediately eyed with suspicion. And who needs that hassle?

Same often happens at airports.  I have had a couple of friends hauled in for questioning at immigration because they are men travelling with children.  In one case it was father and step son (with different surnames). In the other case it was father and son (same name). Having name and ID made no difference in these cases.  If that sort of thing regularly happened to women at airports it would be all over the Daily Mail.

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6 minutes ago, therealhantsram said:

This is sexual discrimination, plain and simple. A man checking in with a 14 year old girl should be treated no differently to a woman checking in with a 14 year old girl... and yet show me any similar cases.

Fact is, you can't go around assuming someone is a pedophile based on their gender. It's not acceptable in this day and age.  And yet people do all the time.  People wonder why there are so few male role models/teachers in primary school... and this is a key factor.  Any man wanting to work around young children is immediately eyed with suspicion. And who needs that hassle?

Same often happens at airports.  I have had a couple of friends hauled in for questioning at immigration because they are men travelling with children.  In one case it was father and step son (with different surnames). In the other case it was father and son (same name). Having name and ID made no difference in these cases.  If that sort of thing regularly happened to women at airports it would be all over the Daily Mail.

I knew we should’ve gone to the daily mail with our case. 

Statistically, more peados are men though, aren’t they? Equal ops is all well and good, but sometimes you have to stereotype and generalise based on statistical probability. Otherwise you’d end up checking absolutely every body, like everyone having to take their shoes off at the airport (and what a pain in the arse that is). It become impractical. 

Maybe this guy eas just a bit creepy, and the receptionist got a bad feeling. Maybe the receptionist would do the same if she got a similarly bad feeling from a woman with a child. 

Happened to my wife, and I guarentee she was being stereotyped because she was South American (not that there’s much people trafficking from South America, as far as I know, unless you count me importing my wife, but maybe they suspected she wasn’t using a child as a drugs mule). 

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10 minutes ago, therealhantsram said:

This is sexual discrimination, plain and simple. A man checking in with a 14 year old girl should be treated no differently to a woman checking in with a 14 year old girl... and yet show me any similar cases.

Fact is, you can't go around assuming someone is a pedophile based on their gender. It's not acceptable in this day and age.  And yet people do all the time.  People wonder why there are so few male role models/teachers in primary school... and this is a key factor.  Any man wanting to work around young children is immediately eyed with suspicion. And who needs that hassle?

Same often happens at airports.  I have had a couple of friends hauled in for questioning at immigration because they are men travelling with children.  In one case it was father and step son (with different surnames). In the other case it was father and son (same name). Having name and ID made no difference in these cases.  If that sort of thing regularly happened to women at airports it would be all over the Daily Mail.

I disagree with most of what you say.

To suggest any man wanting to work with young children is eyed with suspicion is just not true, every person wanting to work with children has to be vetted male or female.

We do not know for a fact, but in the Story it states he tried to book something other than a double room, fine. But on arrival would you not at least be asking them if there is possibly anything else they can provide? The story does not state this happened, I would if it was me.

I don't know the stats, but I suspect far more sex crimes against children and committed by men than women. I would think its far less unusual for a mother and daughter to be happy to share a bed than a father and daughter.

I appreciate they may not have had a choice, but that's irrelevant and the receptionist would not be aware of the circumstances, had he explained the situation to them on check-in and asked if anything else available their fears may have gone away,

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7 hours ago, Paul71 said:

I disagree with most of what you say.

To suggest any man wanting to work with young children is eyed with suspicion is just not true, every person wanting to work with children has to be vetted male or female.

We do not know for a fact, but in the Story it states he tried to book something other than a double room, fine. But on arrival would you not at least be asking them if there is possibly anything else they can provide? The story does not state this happened, I would if it was me.

I don't know the stats, but I suspect far more sex crimes against children and committed by men than women. I would think its far less unusual for a mother and daughter to be happy to share a bed than a father and daughter.

I appreciate they may not have had a choice, but that's irrelevant and the receptionist would not be aware of the circumstances, had he explained the situation to them on check-in and asked if anything else available their fears may have gone away,

I think it's a dangerous place to go tos ay that peopel with certain characteristics, gender , race or whatever  are more likley to commit a crime than others. It might alert some suspicion , but i dont think your first instinct should be to call the police.   

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On 19/02/2018 at 11:26, therealhantsram said:

If that sort of thing regularly happened to women at airports it would be all over the Daily Mail.

That well known champion of gender equality. 

Up to a quarter of child sex abusers are women, according to this report, but only 3 or 4 percent appear in the crime stats. One suggested reason for the discrepancy is the social attitude that young males should be grateful for the experience. 

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-28/female-paedophiles-prevalent-says-leading-forensic-psychologist/6428710

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6 hours ago, Lambchop said:

That well known champion of gender equality. 

Up to a quarter of child sex abusers are women, according to this report, but only 3 or 4 percent appear in the crime stats. One suggested reason for the discrepancy is the social attitude that young males should be grateful for the experience. 

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-28/female-paedophiles-prevalent-says-leading-forensic-psychologist/6428710

I would’ve been when I was a young male, to be fair. 

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My daughter turned 17 in November. I wouldn’t think twice about getting into bed with her because she needed comforting (passing a bad moment, had a nightmare etc) or if we were on holiday (my parents have only got one spare bed, when we went without my wife a couple of summers ago). It’s a bad state of affairs if a father can’t be with his daughter without someone thinking that he is up to no good. Yes, there are some strange people out there, and I’m glad hotels etc do try to protect young visitors, but I would never change the way I act towards my daughter because I was afraid someone might see something strange in my actions. For me she is still the same defenceless thing that I held when she was born. If I had to book a room for the two of us, I wouldn’t even think if it was a double or single beds. Please try to protect against monsters that are out there, but at the same time don’t assume that everyone is a monster.

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A couple of years ago I turned up at a Travelodge and was unable to book a room because I wanted to pay in cash and did not have a passport on me.

I was stood in reception and told I would either have to book online or over the phone so they could run checks on my ID. 

Not sure it's relevant but just thought I would tell my story!

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On 2/19/2018 at 19:25, PistoldPete2 said:

I think it's a dangerous place to go tos ay that peopel with certain characteristics, gender , race or whatever  are more likley to commit a crime than others. It might alert some suspicion , but i dont think your first instinct should be to call the police.   

I do agree I think we as a society now think there are more pedophiles out there, i think its probably the opposite but was overlooked in the past. I would say though if you are suspicious who do you call if not the police?

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37 minutes ago, richinspain said:

My daughter turned 17 in November. I wouldn’t think twice about getting into bed with her because she needed comforting (passing a bad moment, had a nightmare etc) or if we were on holiday (my parents have only got one spare bed, when we went without my wife a couple of summers ago). It’s a bad state of affairs if a father can’t be with his daughter without someone thinking that he is up to no good. Yes, there are some strange people out there, and I’m glad hotels etc do try to protect young visitors, but I would never change the way I act towards my daughter because I was afraid someone might see something strange in my actions. For me she is still the same defenceless thing that I held when she was born. If I had to book a room for the two of us, I wouldn’t even think if it was a double or single beds. Please try to protect against monsters that are out there, but at the same time don’t assume that everyone is a monster.

I don't disagree.

I suppose this story the Hotel did not know if they were actually father and daughter. If a hotel is booked online and you are in the same country then no ID is expected on arrival.

I still think most people if they got a knock on the door and its the police just wanting to check everything is above board then you deal with it provide the police what details they need, yes its probably going to be embarrassing for both of you, but I think most people would not go running to the press in outrage. I still cannot believe that the first thing the police said on the door being opened is 'we have been told you are a pedophile who is grooming children'. I just do not believe that happened, if it did then the police are the ones who want some training not the hotel.

 

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27 minutes ago, G STAR RAM said:

A couple of years ago I turned up at a Travelodge and was unable to book a room because I wanted to pay in cash and did not have a passport on me.

I was stood in reception and told I would either have to book online or over the phone so they could run checks on my ID. 

Not sure it's relevant but just thought I would tell my story!

I think to book a hotel now you need to leave some sort of trace, so if you book online its a card payment so thats the ID, not sure many hotels, certainly chains would allow people to just turn up and pay cash.

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