Purporting to be from the Victoria Police, the letter, which boasted a Neighbourhood Watch logo, informed residents in Mitcham that the father and son in question were registered sex offenders.
According to The Herald-Sun, the correspondence reads: “We would like to inform you that there is a man on the sex offenders list living at (address withheld), it is our responsibility to make you aware of the information to put the necessary arrangements in place to keep your family and the area safe.”
Accusing the resident of sex offences, the letter states: “The man is a repeat offender with charges against him in child paedophilia.”
Understandable horrified by the false accusations, the father and his son, who have lived in the area for more than thirty years, were forced to speak with each of their neighbours in an effort to clear their names.
Refuting the claims against the residents, Leading Sen-Constable, Dennis Gundril, said:” It seems someone has an issue here and they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands and start a vigilante action against innocent people. It appears that they’re barking up the wrong tree.”
It has not yet been established whether the writer of the letter deliberately instigated a hateful plot against the two men or whether it’s a case of mistaken identity, with Sen-Constable Gundrill explaining: “They don’t know what’s going on, which is a big concern for them.”
Nunawading police force insist they have no record of any crime committed by the men at the centre of the disturbing correspondence and have urged residents to submit the letters so they can be tested for fingerprints.
