A notorious pedophile has been found dead by police after he was shot dead during the attempted rape of a 12-year old girl at a property in Morgantown, West Virginia.The 42-year old mother of the girl told investigators that she woke in the early hours of the morning after hearing a commotion in her daughters room. She grabbed a shotgun from her closet and rushed to her daughter’s room, where she was confronted by the sight of an unidentified man attempting struggling with her daughter.Startled, the man turned around to face the mother, at which point she fired directly into his face, blowing off most of his head. The rapist – a 53 year old sex offender known to police for a series of crimes on young victims – died instantly.The mother took her daughter with her and drove directly to a nearby police station where she made her statement to officers. “Deputies arrived at the scene and discovered the body of a deceased male,” said one investigator. “As our enquiry is ongoing we are yet to release the name of the suspect, or the victims involved, but we can confirm that the dead man is on the West Virginia Sex Offender Registry.The mother and daughter are now staying with relatives as their property remains an active crime scene. It is not clear at this point if any charges will be filed against the mother. Victims rights groups have said they expect she will be cleared of any wrongdoing once the investigation is complete. As one member who spoke to the media said: “Can you imagine confronting a rapist in your child’s bedroom? I think all of us would agree he got what he deserved.”