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Paedo magician vanishes after home attack

11:05am Wednesday 2nd April 2008

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Vigilantes have attacked a popular children entertainer's Leatherhead home, after he was exposed as a paedophile this week.

Billy Wand, real name Kevin Hart, received a police caution last autumn for downloading sick kiddie porn.

"It always astonishes me when someone who is in a position of trust gets such a minor punishment. Why wasn't he hauled before the courts?"

Michelle Elliot

But the news was only broken this week in a national newspaper and his home in Kingston Road was immediately under siege by locals taking the law into their own hands.

Rocks were hurled through his windows and the word "paedo" spray-painted over his front door and on the side of his house. When the Epsom Guardian tried to contact Hart, he had already fled.

An eyewitness said that the house had been quite badly damaged and that Hart had not been seen lately.

He said: "They must have spent a little while there because not only had they smashed all the windows, but they had sprayed the graffiti onto both the door and the side of the house.

"Somebody had boarded up the smashed window but we haven't seen any sign of him since the story."

The 49-year-old popular magician and entertainer had appeared at the Blue Peter 40th birthday party and was advising the Government on a new scheme intended for the under-fives.

He had also been Santa for London's Park Lane Hilton hotel and, ironically, the Thames Valley Police Association.

Cops raided his home last year after tracking him down through his credit card and the images were found on his computer.

Michelle Elliot, executive director at children's charity Kidscape, which campaigns against child abuse, said: "It always astonishes me when someone who is in a position of trust gets such a minor punishment. Why wasn't he hauled before the courts?

"To me, it is an imprisonable offence, certainly the wrong impression is given. It's not a minor offence, it is horrendous.

"I think it's wrong and sends the wrong message that he's not gone to prison. It sends the message that child pornography is not that serious when it is. To have someone that's in contact with children, they should go to prison.

"This is usually not a one off so the concern that one has is, is he getting any help? Does he realise the children he was looking at were abused for his pleasure?"

A Surrey Police spokeswoman confirmed that a man had received a police caution for having indecent images on his computer. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register.

She added the force was unable to comment about the attack on Hart's home, and said: "We have no one in the office today and obviously the Epsom Guardian is only a local newspaper."

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JohnDoe, Surrey says...
2:49pm Wed 2 Apr 08

Good News. Another nonce has been run underground by vigilantes. Perhaps the lay-abouts at Surrey Police should have kept slightly better tabs on him. Then again perhaps the vigilantes should have got their sooner. Hang them, burn them, send them to penal colonies but for goD's sake stop letting them get away and dissapear into other communities. And as for the Epsom Guardian not being important enough to speak to, shame on you Surrey Police. Maybe you should look to your more experienced and better all-round police force the MET for advice. Our taxes are up, crime is up and and so are MP's expenses. What is it Surrey Police actually do.

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Jefreyf Palmer, Motspur Park says...
9:55pm Wed 2 Apr 08

Hang on a moment - what has he actually been convicted of ? Nothing. He has received a police caution - that is all. He probably had some dodgy stuff on PC. But obviously not enough for Plod to think it worthwhile to bring a case. For the Epsom Guardian to say he had been "cautioned for downloading sick kiddie ****" shows the reporter concerned was living in some "let's interview Mr Dell Keyboard" syndrome - or perhaps the cops oughta investigate that reporters' PC - something to hide, perhaps. You get a cop caution because either a. they haven't found you've done anything, but they've got their figures to keep up, or b. they've found something (booze, blow, **** etc) but then realise that it's not much more than they would have in the same circumstances. So they let it go.
There's no way this man deserved the whole Witchburner-General treatment on this scanty evidence.

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Ridiculous, Surbiton says...
10:48pm Wed 2 Apr 08

Actually Jefreyf Palmer, a caution can only be issued if there is evidence the offender is guilty or if they admit the offence. But you obviously think having child **** is a minor offence, lets see what you say if your kids end up being abused.

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qwerty, says...
2:21am Thu 3 Apr 08

johndoe your opinions are stupid and pointless and i think it would be best if you knew what you were talking about before you began spouting s**t about someone youve never had any contact with in your insignificant little life. and any way crime is not increasing. check the statistics figures. surely targeting the people putting this filth on the web would be a better way to proceed than destroying the lives of those who clearly have some phycological problems. as if smashing his windows will help this situation. the articles dont give any real indication of the severity of the crime or what he has actualy done and clearly a caution was concidered acceptable as a punishment by those responsible for dealing with offenders. only morons believe everything they read in newspapers.

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RLG, Surrey says...
8:15am Thu 3 Apr 08

Qwerty and JefreyF, come on, get a grip. This man has been caught downloading pictures that no man should want to look at, what else has he been doing??, I would bet my year's salary that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Would you book him for your kids party ?? I agree that a witchhunt against someone is perhaps not necessary but this is the most hideous of crimes, against complete innocents and the public voted, they dont want these people in the community. I speak from personal experience here when I say that men with a fascination for children cannot ever be cured, it is a sickness, they cant help themselves. Equally, children everywhere have a right to their safety and now this man has been pushed underground to slip off the radar. There is no excuse for anyone committing crimes of this nature.

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ric, kingston says...
9:06am Thu 3 Apr 08

its a difficult one really. i mean this article is clearly bias to there own opinion.

the paper have basically given this mans address like they want us all to go round and beat the guy up, smash up his house.

the next time some oldman gets beaten up in the highstreet and mugged. shall we all assume he deserved it?

or the next person in london to get stabbed and murdered. shall we assume he had it coming.

lets all be vigilantes. yeah thats really going to make the country run smoother.

the only evidence there is that he downloaded images. what if it was by mistake? how many were there? why not tell people this. instead of just telling us to go round and kick his windows in.

you have to be careful what you advertise. surely?

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ric, kingston says...
1:52pm Thu 3 Apr 08

have a read of this.

http://news.bbc.co.u
k/1/hi/magazine/7326
736.stm


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Tony Baloney, Surrey says...
3:10pm Thu 3 Apr 08

Have you seen what has been written on this guy's front door?
PADEO
Another example of declining educational standards among vigilantes.

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JohnDoe, Surrey says...
5:24pm Thu 3 Apr 08

I would like to address my Paedo loving critics. Get real you schmucks. The guy downloaded kiddy ****, tell me exactly how he could have done this by mistake. Crime is not dropping it is increasing, look around you. Just because the government spin-doctors and police figure-masseuse's tell you it is not don't be so follish as to believe it. The police have a duty of care and in my eyes ordinary decent coppers fulfil that duty. However I feel the top brass have different agenda's. Put two-and-two together the man was a children's entertainer. He was allowed close contact with children and as such was in a position of trust. Tell me truthfully would you let him anywhere near your children. Well I think we all know the answer will be no.

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ric, kingston says...
3:01pm Fri 4 Apr 08

i dont mind going round beating up people who commit crimes.

i'm just asking if its such a good idea that this newspaper promotes it.

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Are U serious!?, ashtead says...
3:48pm Fri 4 Apr 08

Jef Palmer he must have had a large amount of child ****! The people who vandilised his house deserve a pat on the back. He is within walking distance of 3 local schools! If it was your children he had be downloading off the net you wouldnt be saying half the rubbish thats come out of your mouth. he deserves everything he gets...People like him should lose their human rights. In this PC country we are living in its peoples views like yours that allow these sick people to walk the streets eyeing up their next victim.
John Doe...I dont think the police cautioned him over an innocent accident. There must have been a large amount. Do you honestly expect people in the surrounding area to allow a pervert living near 3 schools? Good on them for smashing his house up

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Are U serious!?, ashtead says...
3:53pm Fri 4 Apr 08

Sorry JohnDoe..Didnt read yours properly.
I agree with you 100%

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I hope not, Sutton says...
9:58pm Fri 4 Apr 08

It must have been for a very low level of image and quantity, or he would have gone to Court and been sentenced a lot differently.

I am not condoning his behaviour at all, kiddie ****, no matter how many images are on the computer, is evil and scum that view this are just as guilty as the people abusing the child and should be punished accordingly.

With regard to him being so close to three schools, I'm sorry to say that he's not the only one, there are a lot more out there in every village, town and city. There are no 'safe' areas anymore. Grim reading isn't it.

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Are U serious!?, ashtead says...
8:42pm Sat 5 Apr 08

If he's not the only one then maybe parents in the local area should be made aware of all of the sick scum living near them. The government should relocate them or bring back hanging. And before any PC idiot brings up their human rights think of the children in the pictures being sent around.

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I hope not, Sutton says...
11:27am Sun 6 Apr 08

Where can they be relocated to realistically? There are no areas without schools and children. Fact. If parents were made aware of where they live, what will happen ? Vigilantes, then they will go into hiding and NONE of us will know where they are. Believe you me, the Police are well aware of where they live and if they have been convicted they also have to notify the police where they are within 3 days of moving. The Police also monitor them using surveillance and intelligence and they will just turn up unannounced on their doorstep to make sure they are not up to anything. They work VERY hard to protect the public, despite people's comments. Its not an infallable system, but it's all we've got at the moment. I would much rather they were monitored by the Police, than driven underground by angry mobs.

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ric, kingston says...
12:07pm Mon 7 Apr 08

I would much rather they were monitored by the Police, than driven underground by angry mobs.


finally someone with sense.


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qwerty, says...
3:22pm Fri 11 Apr 08

theres a reason you people dont work within the criminal justice system. that reason is that you come up with conclusions and solutions such as beating people up and castrating them when you have absolutly no knowledge what so ever of the situation, or evidently, no idea of how to deal with a situation in a civilised way. you have no evidence, youve not done any investigation and as such i think you lot are as bad as peodophiles because your clearly stupid and dangerous. who's more at risk, this man or the children near him? this man has aparently spent most of his lifee ntertaining children and yet has clearly never asaulted one, as he would have recieved more than a caution. im sure the police know his location, and having suggested patting the people who trashed his house on the back, castration, violence and stripping him of his human rights i see absolutly no reason why people like you should. get a grip and stop believing everything you read in bloody newspapers!

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newo, surrey says...
4:53pm Thu 24 Apr 08

i think it is bad that organasitions let people work for them without checks especially when the work involves children i think more people even privat clients who book childrens entertainers should ask for proof of Criminal record beauro checks i work with children and have after 10 yrs working for a council, they have decided to ask for my C.R,B now if i was a peodophile thats 10yrs unchecked, working with children, i find this quite disgusting that big organisions do not do checks to protect children,
quote

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Vigilantes vandalised Wand's home Vigilantes vandalised Wand's home

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