by Anna Roberts

Nearly 1,500 people have joined a group on the social networking site Facebook which names and shames alleged sex offenders living in Kent.

The group was set up earlier this year by Chris Wittwer who said he wanted parents to know where sex offenders lived.

Among Mr Wittwer’s targets are a number of convicted people from Kent, including former Snodland police officer Paul Hook. In 2004 Hook, then 32, and of Alex Hughes Close, received a six-month jail sentence after he admitted downloading child pornography.

A number of other Kent people, who Mr Wittwer alleges are convicted sex offenders, have been named, but the KM is unable to verify the authenticity of the allegations.

Mr Wittwer said the group aimed to “monitor the perverts that prey on our kids”.

He said: “On this site we aim to expose the paedophiles, perverts and child abuse animals that infest our society today.
“Is it just and right what I am doing? I don’t care!

“If I can help to save one child from these crimes then it has all been worth it.”

Group members have called on Mr Wittwer to release people’s addresses. They go on to suggest what they would like to do to the people mentioned, including torture and death.

Facebook users have to request to join the group called 'KENT: convicted paedophiles named and shamed’.

Kent Police spokeswoman Pippa Taylor said: “Much information taken from the internet and sites such as Facebook should be treated with caution as its authenticity cannot be confirmed.

“Part of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA which tracks sex offenders) includes assessing risk to members of the public and, where they should be told about offenders in their community, we tell them.

“We encourage anyone with concerns about offenders to report the information to the police or through Crimestoppers.

“By providing the police and our partners with information people can help to protect themselves and others.

“We have invested significant resources to manage and monitor sexual offenders in the community. We have increased home visits to sexual offenders and work closely with the probation service and other partners, through MAPPA, to reduce serious re-offending behaviour and protect our communities.”

A Facebook spokeswoman said: “We want Facebook to be a place where people can openly discuss issues and express their views, while respecting the rights and feeling of others.
“It is within the terms of the site for users to express their views about a public figure, which includes views about someone who has been convicted of a crime and details related to the crime that are freely available in the media.

“However, bullying and harassment
of a private individual is
against the terms of use of the site and any content or users found to be in violation will be removed.

“As a community, Facebook is highly self-regulating, and we encourage users to report questionable or offensive content.
“Facebook takes all complaints by users seriously and we have a dedicated team investigating these complaints and comments by users.”