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 can’t believe people here are supporting these rules that TravelLodge employees have to follow! That’s insane!
he should sue Travelodge until he ends up owning the whole corporation ...
They should sue Travelodge. Haven’t those idiots heard of FAMILIES? I wonder what they would do if a single mom rented a room with her teenage son?
I agree. The article implies that the only reason they shared a room is that there were no others available. I’d never put a 14 year old in her own hotel room. Staff would know, they have access to pass keys and not all are trustworthy people.
What a creepy evil empire. Probably a good idea for families to avoid its other domains, too. Never cared much for the color red on coats anyway.
The goal is to make white men irrelevant. Notice how the dad is always the clueless bumbling imbecile and the mom or gay best friend is the savior?
that’s for sure. I would always stay in a suite hotel and sleep in the front room on the pullout. The one time we gave them an separate room was a near thing, fortunately paranoia bedcheck caught them before any real troubles could get started...they were sooo sad when I poured all the liquor out...
Roll forward 7 years and you might have found me driving around Santa Monica in the middle of the night hunting for an open liquor store for my daughter’s wine requests so she and her friends could have a proper room party...
I suspect that is the difference that mattered. We know what normal father-daughter conversation sounds like. The funeral tone of visiting someone who may be dying probably struck them (accurately) as unnatural. The staff merely misread the meaning. As a parent, I would be okay with that error if the police were called on me.
Why was my post removed in which I said this has nothing to do with “bitter, sour women” but about the consequences of Rotherham?
What is this culture saying, “teach your daughter to be afraid of her father’???
“Travelodge have given Karl a full refund for his stay and offered him an apology. “
Nice try Travelodge... Now get out your checkbook because your going for a ride.
Holy shoot.
Seems unfair as I have traveled and shared a room with a tween/teen son, we did this all theme on sports competition trips, and no one ever accused me of pedophilia.
I understand the hotel doesn’t want to sit quietly when a 45 year old guy comes in with a 13 year old girl. So if the hotel room is $200 the dad has now to pay for two rooms, I guess. Because kids don’t usually carry ID. I guess the best thing to do is to get your kids a passport or something. But what if the kid has a different last name from dad? Then what?
It’s tough. When my pedophile was stopped by police he pretended I was his niece and I sat quietly. I now wish I hadn’t but I was too young to know better. Pedophiles do get away with this stuff by pretending the kid is their relative. So what is a good solution? I guess dads carrying the girl’s passport round with him?
Because if you have several or even two children and have to travel with one, the mom had to stay home sometimes with the other child. It’s a real situation. My own dad had enough $ that he would always get me my own room. Not everyone can afford that, and of course who wants their 13 year old daughter in a room by herself where she could sneak out unnoticed, also?
Only men are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Such assumptions would never apply to women.
You call them pallets too?
I always wondered if other people used that term.
My 6 year old loves to make them on Fridays in the living room in front of the TV.
That’s what my grandmother and mother called them. lol
OK, no one can ever go on vacation with one’s teenage children ever again.
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