Posted on 02/19/2018 4:51:37 PM PST by nickcarraway
A father was accused of being a paedophile by Travelodge staff after he booked a room with his teenage daughter when they went to visit his mother in hospital.
Karl Pollard, 46, was horrified when police raided his room after the hotel reported him for suspected grooming.
He was staying in the Travelodge in Macclesfield, Cheshire, with his 14-year-old daughter Stephanie to see his mother, who suffers from cancer.
They had traveled four hours on the train from their home in south Wales to make the visit. Mr Pollard told the Daily Star: ‘I couldn’t believe it.
It was an emotional trip already – but it was made so much worse. ‘One minute I was brushing my teeth, the next I was being told I was a paedophile.’
He said he wanted to make the trip so his daughter could visit her grandmother before she starts treatment for aggresive lung cancer. ‘We’re not sure how long she has left,’ he said.
Mr Pollard, who cares for his wife Kim, 45, who has multiple sclerosis, booked a double bedroom for him and Stephanie after being told it was the only room left.
‘When we arrived the receptionist gave me a weird look but I thought nothing of it,’ he said.
‘We went up to the room to get unpacked and ready to see my mum. ‘It was only a 20-minute walk away – which is why I chose the hotel.
‘About 10 minutes later there was a knock at the door. A policewoman was standing there. I thought something had happened to my mum or my wife.
‘But she said, “We’ve had a call from Travelodge, they believe you are a paedophile grooming underage girls”.’
He says his daughter was left ‘distraught’ after being interviewed by police. ‘My daughter was in tears.
She was so scared – and thought I was going to get taken away. This has never happened to me before,’ he said.
Travelodge have given Karl a full refund for his stay and offered him an apology.
A spokesman said: ‘All our hotel teams are trained according to national guidelines supported by the NSPCC.
‘In the past proactive action by our hotel teams has helped to safeguard young people at risk. In this instance we got it wrong.’
A Cheshire Police spokesman said: ‘Police were called at 3pm on Thursday, February 8, to reports of suspicious activity at a hotel on Waters Green in Macclesfield.
‘Staff at the Travelodge did the right thing by reporting what they believed to be suspicious activity to officers, although thankfully there was nothing untoward and it turned out to be a misunderstanding.'
I guess this will happen a lot more with the “see something, say something” campaign. Better safe than sorry.
I travelled cross country with my daughters when they each were ten. I got some looks. Then they heard us talk. There is nothing like the back and forth between a dad and a daughter who does not care about going to the Little Big Horn.
The idiots at the Travelodge knew it was the only room left when they rented it to him. I’d sue the bastards lily white.
I always thought a PA ed ophile was someone who was a fan of colleges in Pennsylvania.
Thank goodness she wasn’t taking a shower at the time.
I guess the Social Justice Warriors want to outlaw fathers.
I’d rather know they were observing than turning a blind eye.
Shocking for this father and daughter, sure. But in the long run could save someone.
Unfortunately, our society needs these kind of observers.
Kit.
Praying for victims of human traffickers...
This is the sort of thing that is going to chase more men from serving as active fathers in their daughters’ lives. (Already men are more likely to leave a marriage with daughters than with sons.)
And that is likely to lead to more lost girls becoming victim to bad-actor men out in the world.
So maybe some girl saved with this policy—but others likely tossed to the wolves, too.
I think they did the right thing, as a precaution. However, I am concerned as to how grabby the state will become with this new policy.
My basic expectation is that normal fathers with normal daughters are going to be put through the wringer in cases like this. Just because. You can’t be too careful, you know?
My other expectation is that pedophiles who are grooming young girls will be largely left alone. Just because. Who wants to stir up trouble with an actual sex offender?
See something, say something? Doesn’t that backfire close to 100% of the time? Because the authorities are complete morons?
I hope he sues them for multi millions. Disgusting that being a male automatically makes someone a suspect.
Only men are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Such assumptions would never apply to women.
Being that he’s not Muslim, he is FAIR GAME for ‘Grooming’. Hopefully he’s more careful next time.
It’s that toxic masculinity again. The same reason when making airline reservations, the airlines made it a point not to sit women with non-family men, and children traveling alone? Gasp. Never sit them with men.
Don’t touch any women, leave lost kids alone.
Maleness is Mafia; you’re Don Corleone.
But it’s mostly you older guys doomed, as a rule;
The snow-flaky beta males are neutered in school.
If they were Muslim, the staff would have seen something and not said a damn word.
For all of you that didn’t read the article...
This happened in the UK.
I hope that you convinced them to go. Even as teens when we make the trip across the country they want to take the longer route so we can visit it.
They’ve only been to Devil’s Tower twice - that gets to be a bit too much of a detour for their old man.
This isn’t about protecting children, this is about POWER.
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