January 21, 2020 4.15 pm This story is over 50 months old

Skegness Butlin’s worker arrested after viral paedophile sting

He has been suspended by his work

A 29-year-old Skegness man was arrested on on suspicion of a sexual offence.

A Skegness man has been arrested after paedophile hunters quizzed him on camera over alleged online sexual grooming and verbally teaching a young girl to masturbate.

Butlin’s said it is aware of social media content relating to one of its staff and has suspended the person immediately.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially said at the start of the live Facebook stream on Sunday, January 19 that he was “genuinely confused” why the group was there.

However, he later admitted in the video it was all “momentary stuff” and that “he is “disgusted with himself” after being shown evidence of conversations where the girl tells him on at least four occasions that she is 13. He apologised for his actions before police turned up to arrest him.

The man was quizzed by a paedophile hunter group in an online video.

In reply to someone through its official Twitter account, Butlin’s said: “We are aware of social media content relating to one of our team members.

“This person has been instantly suspended and we are now providing full assistance to the police. As the investigation is ongoing, we cannot comment further.”

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “We arrested a 29-year-old Skegness man (on January 19) on suspicion of a sexual offence. He has been released on bail pending enquiries.”

Caught in a sting

When he is shown evidence by the group of a photo of a girl, the man is asked if he recognises her. He said she told him she was 18, but then he is shown evidence of a message where she told him she was 13. It is understood that the chat with the girl had been ongoing since November.

Although it was allegedly on an app for adults and her profile is understood to say she is 18, the paedophile hunter said the messages clearly show the child told him she was 13 more than once.

He was accused on camera of explaining to her how to masturbate, but said he told her to stop after she said it hurt.

The man appears to openly answer the questions in the video, but is visibly shaken and nervous. However, he was adamant in the footage that he ‘does not find children sexually attractive’ and that he hasn’t ever sent any indecent images.

The man, who said he has been employed at his work for six to seven months, claimed that he had only spoken with one child and that they would speak “every now and again” when he was “in the mood”.

The interview continued outside where the man was visibly nervous.

The paedophile hunter group said it is concerned as it has evidence of online sexual grooming and with that information it wanted to intercept and put a stop to it to avoid the risk of him meeting a child. After being advised he should seek help, the man asks where he can get help from.

Police officers are then seen in the video and appear to arrest the man.