Wednesday, November 10th, 2010
An internet vigilante’s online national database which names and shames paedophiles received 100,000 hits to his website – on the first DAY.

Campaigner Chris Wittwer, 35, posted names, pictures and details of sex offenders across Britain on his site CHRIS (Children Have Rights In Society).
He spent ”every waking hour” for three years gathering police mugshots of registered sex offenders to compile the gallery of sex offenders.
The site, which allows anyone to see who has been convicted of a sexual assault in their area, went live on Tuesday night and has already received 100,000 hits.
It has been slammed by police who said the information may push paedophile rings underground as they move away from areas in a bid to conceal their identity.
There are also fears that vigilante groups may target those named and photographed for reprisals.
But Chris said he has had a ”fantastic response” from parents – who he believes have the right to know where registered paedophiles live.
Father-of two Chris said: ”We have had so many people getting in touch about the website and we have had some outstanding feedback.
”There has been a fantastic response and the way we are going we expect to get over a million hits in the first week.
”The website is not just about naming and shaming but also to provide support for all survivors of abuse. It has taken three years of research and another six months to get the site set up.
”I feel really proud. It’s quite an achievement and if it helps people spot sex offenders living in their area who are a known risk to children, I’ve done a good thing.”
Chris compiled details of convicted sex offenders by checking local newspapers and court records and from anonymous tip-offs.
The ex-Army chef, of Exminster, Devon, had previously tried to list paedophiles on a Facebook site, which was closed down by police.
But warehouse worker Chris was able to start again after showing he was not breaking any laws by presenting information already in the public domain.
The website is expected to receive in excess of one million hits in the first week after going online for the first time on Tuesday.
He says he will keep adding to his website until it features details of all all 180,000 convicted paedophiles in Britain.
Chris said: ”Child abuse is a problem in this country that nobody seems to want to tackle head on.
”I certainly don’t want to encourage or condone violence against these offenders, but people need to be aware of dangerous paedophiles living in their area.
”We are predicting so much traffic to the site that we needed to get a special server. It’s a massive project, but totally worthwhile.”
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said it already followed nationally recognised protocols to manage sex registered sex offenders, which had proved ”effective”.
He said: ”The open disclosure of the details of registered sex offenders, such as that on the CHRIS website, is not a process that Devon& Cornwall Police encourages.
”It is felt this disclosure may actually make it more difficult to manage these individuals, as they become reluctant to keep authorities updated with their living arrangements and they become more difficult to track and manage.
”The website as it stands is not breaking any laws as all the information has previously been published in the public domain.
”However, it is felt the collating and publishing of this material raises awareness of where these individuals are living and ultimately may inhibit people’s safety rather than protecting it – the offenders may seek to move on without updating authorities.”
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Adrian Hearn
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