Claire Varin says the family first met the man who claimed to be a barrister, in 2017.

A mum was charged with data protection offences and also had to face the prospect of losing her home after exposing a paedophile neighbour.

Claire Varin used Sarah’s Law, the child sex offender disclosure scheme, after growing suspicious about a man living in her street who was acting strangely around her daughter, the Sun reported.

Using the scheme, she was able to find out from police if the man, named Tom, had any previous convictions.

However, as part of the conditions she also had to sign a non-disclosure form vowing not to tell other neighbours.


Claire found out that Tom, in his thirties, had been jailed for having child abuse images on his computer and told other parents on the streets so they could protect their kids.

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She soon found herself being charged under the Data Protection Act and faced a potential court trial before the case was dropped.



The Varin family say they first met Tom when he moved to the street in 2017.

After introducing himself as a trainee barrister, he began chatting to their daughters who were eight and 12 at the time.

The following day, Claire was shocked when he turned up at the family’s front door, asking if her youngest daughter wanted to go berry picking with him.

Her husband Sam answered the door and declined his offer, however the next day he returned with a tub of berries that he said were for their daughter.

Growing increasingly suspicious, Claire decided to call the police to check Tom’s past.

Claire found out that Tom, in his thirties, had been jailed for having child abuse images on his computer (Picture: Facebook)

A few months later, the police told her the sickening news that he had been jailed for eight months for having 97 films of child abuse on his laptop.

Claire said: ‘They told my husband to go ­upstairs. Then they told me they could make the disclosure to me under Sarah’s Law because it was in our interests.

‘They told me Tom’s real name and he had been sentenced for having indecent images of children as young as two.

‘It was a horrifying thing to know. My neighbours all had children. What if something happened? How could you live with yourself?’

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Claire’s husband was unable to contain his anger after finding out the truth and alerted some of his neighbours, before confronting the paedophile.

The following day police gave Sam a warning for making threats.

Sam also flew into a rage when he caught the man speaking in sign language to his older daughter who is severely deaf – landing him with a second warning from officers.

The paedophile also complained about the family to the housing association, which resulted in them threatening eviction.

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Claire pleaded not guilty to recklessly disclosing personal data, and the case was discontinued due to a lack of evidence against her.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: ‘A woman charged with breaking the data protection act has had the charges against her dropped.

‘Prior to her appearing in court, she was offered a conditional caution but this was not accepted, so a criminal charge was the most appropriate option.

‘After new evidence came to light, the Crown Prosecution Service decided along with the police to discontinue the case.’

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We have significantly strengthened the requirements sex offenders are subject to, and a range of new civil orders have given police more powers to manage their behaviour in the community.’

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