Norwich’s Eastern Daily Press has apologised to a Norfolk man after publishing the wrong name in a court report about a convicted child sex offender.
The Archant-owned title printed a page three apology following a court report about a man who had been convicted of sexual offences against a 15-year-old girl in a story headlined “Man groomed girl for sex”.
The man is later alleged to have had the word ‘paedo’daubed on his home in graffiti and had his car set alight.
In its apology, which appeared on page three of last Thursday’s paper, the EDP admitted the man ‘had never been charged with, admitted to or been convicted of any sexual offences, is not on the sex offenders register and is not subject to a sexual offences prevention order”.
The EDP said the mistake was the result of a mix up with another court case in which the man was accused, and later cleared, of assault and criminal damage.
In a statement the EDP said: ‘The EDP regrets an error made in an article in the newspaper entitled ‘Man groomed girl for sex’ and has apologised unreservedly for any distress caused to the gentleman incorrectly named, or to his family, as a result of this mistake.”
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