Abduction Puzzle

[FredPuli43]

Just caught this on Sky News: A girl called Lorna has disappeared, believed abducted by a named man in his 30s. What puzzled me was that the report said he was a conman who had received a suspended sentence for fraud recently. Now, what is the relevance of that information and what chance has he got of a fair trial if he's prosecuted for abduction? His form would not go before the jury as a matter of course, even now when the rules against its introduction have been relaxed a bit. Do Sky News have no regard for such niceties?

[douglas9401]

I think Sky News, like tabloid papers, are happy enough to be first with the news and worry about everything else later.

[jno]

I can see the possible relevance - that he may have lured her away by fibbing to her - but putting it on the news does seem highly prejudicial.

[naomi24]

I don't know how that's relevant. I understood he's a friend of the family, so someone known to her.

[bravejordy]

Pretty much the same report on Daybreak too, saying the guy was a convicted fraudster. Like you, Fred, I wondered what relevance that had to abduction. I could've understood had the guy been a convicted paedophile or something similar, but fraudster?!

[emmie]

maybe not relevant but perhaps the police are putting out the info to those who may know him.

[Svejk]

It must have been reported the same way elsewhere. I heard it and I don't watch Sky News.

[FredPuli43]

We may guess that the police put out this information via the media. The media also reported that he had been passing her off as his daughter. That is relevant if some suspicious hotelier, for example, is presented with a man and a girl and the man says the girl is his daughter. That the man is a conman who, therefore, may not pay for the stay is of interest to any hotelier but not very relevant to the enquiry as against the prejudicial effect of the evidence,

[Gromit]

// Mr Bush was described as a "professional fraudster" by a judge who gave him a 14-month prison sentence suspended for two years earlier this year on condition that he did 200 hours of unpaid work.

York Crown Court heard how he had committed a range of frauds including persuading garages to give him courtesy cars he never returned and using a holiday cottage without paying.

The judge was told Mr Bush had a number of convictions for dishonesty. His lawyer said he had been homeless at the time of the frauds and had been in a relationship with a drug addict.

South Yorkshire Police said a second man has been arrested in connection with the investigation. //

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-22891172

Does seem odd that the police are publicising his criminal history. Sounds like she has not been 'abducted' but is willingly with this man.

[anotheoldgit]

Would it be too much to ask for a link to your question.

[anotheoldgit]

Thank you Gromit.

[Octavius]

I imagine that stating "he was a conman who had received a suspended sentence for fraud recently" is much the same as stating any profession in such cases "teacher from"..."IT worker from"....etc.

Nothing unusual or irrelevant.