Blogger Nigel Nessling avoids prison after downloading 40,000 indecent images.

[Eleanor]

[undoes plaster over mouth]

When I was a kid we had a saying:
"Never turn your back on a cubmaster". It worked for most for some it didn't.
What you describe has been going on for years. Organisations that are for childcren are, not surprisingly, like magnets for certain types. I don't know the answer except that all the initiatives devised by governments, of varying flavours, since I was a boy haven't worked and realistically there is no reason to believe the next one will. Maybe it's one of those problems to which there is no solution except to teach your kids to be vigilant and not trust anyone at face value then just hope for the best?

When I was seventeen, I was a Cub Master.  I don't think I have anything to say beyond that.

[Eleanor]

I am completely disgusted by the desire to involve The Mccanns in this.  And please don't pretend otherwise.  This is precisely what some of you are trying to do.

But should this Forum wish to go down this road then there is nothing more that I can do.  Perhaps it ever was inevitable.  So have your Cess Pit if you so prefer.

[G-Unit]

I am completely disgusted by the desire to involve The Mccanns in this.  And please don't pretend otherwise.  This is precisely what some of you are trying to do.

But should this Forum wish to go down this road then there is nothing more that I can do.  Perhaps it ever was inevitable.  So have your Cess Pit if you so prefer.

There is no evidence that I have seen which suggests that they knew this man existed. The only connection is that he allied himself to their cause. He supported them and forcefully attacked those he saw as attacking them.

Perhaps he truly believed he was helping, but his recent exposure has destroyed any credibility he may have enjoyed. I think it's about being aware that if a person tends to be abusive online they are best avoided.

[John]

I am completely disgusted by the desire to involve The Mccanns in this.  And please don't pretend otherwise.  This is precisely what some of you are trying to do.

But should this Forum wish to go down this road then there is nothing more that I can do.  Perhaps it ever was inevitable.  So have your Cess Pit if you so prefer.

I think you are right to highlight this particular point Eleanor and that is precisely why the previous thread was deleted.  The McCanns are not responsible for what Nessling did and that must be made crystal clear.  I'm sure they would be the first to agree too that Nessling has damaged their campaign albeit ever so slightly, but then again that is completely outwith their control.  Paedophiles will latch onto campaigns just as normal people do and there is very little any of us can do about it.

In my opinion however, I think the judge was extremely lenient on Nessling, a few months at her majesty's pleasure was the very least he should have received.  These vile contemptable individuals have a hard time in prison and rightly so, Nessling was bloody lucky to escape it.  Lets hope he has learned his lesson!

[stephen25000]

I think you are right to highlight this particular point Eleanor and that is precisely why the previous thread was deleted.  The McCanns are not responsible for what Nessling did and that must be made crystal clear.  I'm sure they would be the first to agree too that Nessling has damaged their campaign albeit ever so slightly, but then again that is completely outwith their control.  Paedophiles will latch onto campaigns just as normal people do and there is very little any of us can do about it.

In my opinion however, I think the judge was extremely lenient on Nessling, a few months at her majesty's pleasure was the very least he should have received.  These vile contemptable individuals have a hard time in prison and rightly so, Nessling was bloody lucky to escape it.  Lets hope he has learned his lesson!

Yes, he should have gone to prison. No doubt about that.

Just read around what he accused others of.

[sadie]

Some may argue that Nigel Nessling's conviction for viewing, making and downloading child pornography has nothing to do with the case of Madeleine McCann.

While his offence may have no connection, the man himself certainly did. He was involved with a group called Forever Searching, which, in turn, is said to have been approached by the McCanns to help them with their search. 

2010
The charity I am raising money for is Forever Searching. I have been involved with, and helping to raise money for this charity for a couple of years now.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/vee8

One of the founders of this group (I'm not sure it's a charity) was quoted as saying it was launched in September 2007 by six women in response to Madeleine's disappearance.

It works by using a network of worldwide volunteers registered on the site to distribute posters, emails and press releases.

Forever Searching also sets up pages on social networking websites for each of the children they investigate.

The McCanns approached Forever Searching just after the site launched as part of a global campaign to find their daughter. Niamh said: "They are still suffering immensely. They contacted us because they knew we could reach people from around the world to help them in their search.

Read more at: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/ulster-woman-forever-searching-for-madeleine-1-1872708

Forever Searching was organised;

2008 Facebook
We are looking for volunteers to help within our small, friendly, professional group. Can you spare some computer time? As a volunteer you will need to use the internet to research possible target audiences, as well as emailing posters of missing children worldwide. You will be allocated a Team Leader who is there to assist you whenever needed. You will be required to email your weekly progress reports to your team leader and discuss where to focus next. You will need to have basic computer skills, be reliable and have a passion for missing children. If you wish to help our group please register at www.foreversearching.com We thank you – and the children thank you

At one point the UK Missing Persons Bureau was recommending the group as have This Morning on ITV.
http://www.sardawales.org.uk/old_site/4._Organisations_Help_and_Support.pdf
http://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/about-mpb/our-history
https://www.itv.com/thismorning/missing-people-helplines

So some of Nessling's online activity between 2008 and 2019 was probably directed by Forever Searching and his progress was reported back to them.

I'm not suggesting that the group knew of or condoned ny of his other activities at all. People with agendas often infiltrate organisations in order to achieve their own ends. What I am saying is that he worked his way into one  organisation which was in contact with the McCanns for some reason. Whatever his role was in that organisation, I assume they had no knowledge of his activities as vee8 because I assume they would not condone them.

Do you realise what an unpleasant post this is,  Gunit ?

Despite your protests to the contrary you are pointing your finger at missing people and child charities and making obvious insinuations.  And of course they would know that he was Vee8

You do realise, do you, that some people with dodgy backgrounds would love to get rid of the organisations looking for missing children ? 

Because without those organisations the dodgy person would be safer from being detected

[John]

Do you realise what an unpleasant post this is,  Gunit ?

Despite your protests to the contrary you are pointing your finger at missing people and child charities and making obvious insinuations.  And of course they would know that he was Vee8

You do realise, do you, that some people with dodgy backgrounds would love to get rid of the organisations looking for missing children ? 

Because without those organisations the dodgy person would be safer from being detected

I would say that you find the content unpleasant rather than the way it was presented, a case of shooting the messenger.  We all know that the topics we discuss can be unpleasant Sadie, should we ignore them in favour of all the nice cute ones?

[Brietta]

I think you are right to highlight this particular point Eleanor and that is precisely why the previous thread was deleted.  The McCanns are not responsible for what Nessling did and that must be made crystal clear.  I'm sure they would be the first to agree too that Nessling has damaged their campaign albeit ever so slightly, but then again that is completely outwith their control.  Paedophiles will latch onto campaigns just as normal people do and there is very little any of us can do about it.

In my opinion however, I think the judge was extremely lenient on Nessling, a few months at her majesty's pleasure was the very least he should have received.  These vile contemptable individuals have a hard time in prison and rightly so, Nessling was bloody lucky to escape it.  Lets hope he has learned his lesson!

In my opinion, John, this man and his vile criminal conviction do not have the power to damage the McCann campaign on behalf of Madeleine.

They have achieved their aim of having Madeleine's case officially reopened and subject to full investigation as a result of their very successful campaign.  Some people do not rest easy with that from FOI demands from the time of the scoping exercise to recent FOI demands about Operation Grange officers' travel to the Algarve.

The theme of this thread and the contributions made to it in my opinion demean the whole ethos of this forum, but in my opinion that is exactly the intent.

[John]

In my opinion, John, this man and his vile criminal conviction do not have the power to damage the McCann campaign on behalf of Madeleine.

They have achieved their aim of having Madeleine's case officially reopened and subject to full investigation as a result of their very successful campaign.  Some people do not rest easy with that from FOI demands from the time of the scoping exercise to recent FOI demands about Operation Grange officers' travel to the Algarve.

The theme of this thread and the contributions made to it in my opinion demean the whole ethos of this forum, but in my opinion that is exactly the intent.

Maybe damage was the wrong word, he certainly hasn't done it any favours by his odious activities.

[G-Unit]

Do you realise what an unpleasant post this is,  Gunit ?

Despite your protests to the contrary you are pointing your finger at missing people and child charities and making obvious insinuations.  And of course they would know that he was Vee8

You do realise, do you, that some people with dodgy backgrounds would love to get rid of the organisations looking for missing children ? 

Because without those organisations the dodgy person would be safer from being detected

Do you have any cites or is that all just IYO?

[Alice Purjorick]

In my opinion, John, this man and his vile criminal conviction do not have the power to damage the McCann campaign on behalf of Madeleine.

They have achieved their aim of having Madeleine's case officially reopened and subject to full investigation as a result of their very successful campaign.  Some people do not rest easy with that from FOI demands from the time of the scoping exercise to recent FOI demands about Operation Grange officers' travel to the Algarve.

The theme of this thread and the contributions made to it in my opinion demean the whole ethos of this forum, but in my opinion that is exactly the intent.

Your objection to such tactics was noticeable by its absence when the boot was on the other foot as it were.
Because of that the words sanctimonious and claptrap spring to my mind.

[sadie]

Do you think it will stop the allegations about a certain member of the Tapas 9 & the endless accusations of all supporters being "paedo enablers" or will Nessling's conviction simply provide more fuel for the sceptic machine?

Hear Hear.

What he did is dreadful and sadly some children will have been damaged, often by their own father trying to make money with the sale of disgusting photos.   Most children will never know, thank goodness, but it is still an abuse.

He has been sentenced ... and is serving that sentence which is immensely harder with his being a public figure with a distinctive name.

Now kindly leave him alone and give his family a break, as well as the children involved.   He is serving his sentence, his misery will be intense, without all the additional abuse.  Allow him to get on with it and serve his time, please.   

[Brietta]

Your objection to such tactics was noticeable by its absence when the boot was on the other foot as it were.
Because of that the words sanctimonious and claptrap spring to my mind.

What boot and what foot?

[Miss Taken Identity]

In my opinion, John, this man and his vile criminal conviction do not have the power to damage the McCann campaign on behalf of Madeleine.

They have achieved their aim of having Madeleine's case officially reopened and subject to full investigation as a result of their very successful campaign.  Some people do not rest easy with that from FOI demands from the time of the scoping exercise to recent FOI demands about Operation Grange officers' travel to the Algarve.

The theme of this thread and the contributions made to it in my opinion demean the whole ethos of this forum, but in my opinion that is exactly the intent.

What is the ethos of this forum? My personal view of this particular thread was- justice for Madeleine, not the parents. To discuss what may have happened to her- look into all the available details to see what crops up.

Like any proper police enquiry there are no- no go areas- all and everything is on the board many unpleasant theories to be looked at.  Because let's face it, something seriously unpleasant did /and may still/ be happening to  MBM.  And this was down to the parents behaviour. The inability to accept that 'charity workers' and other 'good and great people' can be paedophiles is cause for concern. IMO. Which was ofcourse thrown out of a supreme court.  Should we not look at those who befriended or associated themselves to the parents? I think we should! or should we just talk up all the nice stuff... erm.. yeah about that...

[stephen25000]

Hear Hear.

What he did is dreadful and sadly some children will have been damaged, often by their own father trying to make money with the sale of disgusting photos.   Most children will never know, thank goodness, but it is still an abuse.

.He has been sentenced ... and is serving that sentence which is immensely harder with his being a public figure with a distinctive name.


Now kindly leave him alone and give his family a break, as well as the children involved.   He is serving his sentence, his misery will be intense, without all the additional abuse.  Allow him to get on with it and serve his time, please.

Public figure ?

No Sadie, he is a convicted criminal who will now spend 10 years on the sex offenders register.

I.M.O. His family are well rid of him.