Description
A notorious paedophile has been allowed to live just metres from a childrens playground in Heywood without the knowledge of the probation service, the Manchester Evening News can reveal.
Digital maps used by the probation service initially failed to identify the presence of the park directly opposite the home where Todros Grynhaus is living, correspondence shared with the Manchester Evening News shows.
The Probation Service said the decisions around where a sex offender lives are based on 'particular risks an individual poses' and are 'actively monitored on an ongoing basis'.
Elsie Blundell, Heywood's MP, has written to the Probation Service about her 'grave concerns' and said: "Sexual offenders released from custody have no place near settings or local amenities frequented by children or young people."
The Manchester Evening News understands there is another individual residing at the property and has therefore taken the decision not to publish the exact location.
The community where Grynhaus lives is aware of his convictions, and some residents told the Manchester Evening News they no longer allow their children to play in the park, adding they felt 'angry' he had been allowed to live on what they described as a 'family estate'.
Greater Manchester Police says it continually reviews risk assessments, which take place alongside 'statutory partners, including the Probation Service'.
Grynhaus, a successful businessman and father-of-ten who enjoyed high standing in Salfords tight-knit ultra-Orthodox community, was jailed for over 13 years in 2015 after a jury found him guilty of seven sex offences against two young girls between 1996 and 2004.
The court heard he subjected one teenage girl to a campaign of abuse over three years, repeatedly groping her and even taking her to a hotel and molesting her in the jacuzzi.
A second victim, also a teenage girl, was groped by Grynhaus over a three-month period. In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Holroyde said Grynhaus took cynical advantage of his victims vulnerability, adding he believed there was a significant risk he would commit further sexual offences against a girl or girls.
Grynhaus was made to sign the sex offenders register for life, and made subject to an extended licence period of four years following his prison term of 13 years and two months.
He was released in 2022 but was reportedly recalled to prison following a breach of his licence.
He was later authorised to move into his current address following a Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) assessment - a mandatory requirement for all registered sex offenders.
However, the digital maps used during the MAPPA assessment did not pick up the presence of the childrens playground opposite Grynhaus new address.
The Manchester Evening News counted just 24 paces between the gate of Grynhaus' home and the park. Authorities were only made aware of it following a complaint.
In a letter to the complainant seen by this newspaper, Andy Roberts, Assistant Chief Officer at Greater Manchester Probation Service (GMPS), said the decision regarding where Grynhaus could live was made based on digital maps.
In relation to granting permission of a registered sex offender to reside opposite a childrens park. As I explaineddecisions like this are made on a multi-agency (MAPPA) basis and not solely by probation, he wrote.
The case at the time was also managed by a different PDU (probation delivery unit) and the decision was based on electronic information (map) made available. This did not identify the presence of the park. The learning from this has been shared.
Later in the letter, Mr Roberts said the complaint regarding Grynhaus housing had not been upheld, adding: but I would state there is learning to be gained.
Neighbours spoke of their shock when they discovered Todros grim past and said they felt scared and angry about him living opposite the playground.
When they first moved in everyone was really welcoming, we welcome any culture, one neighbour told the Manchester Evening News.
But then word started going round about who he was and it was like, wow.
His house is literally in front of a park. It really worries me that he has been allowed to live there. At the end of the day he is a dangerous man.
She added there are parents in the area who now refuse to take their children to the park.
I know one mum who was just starting to let her little girl go by herself and now she wont, she said.
She has had to take that away from her.
Were paying money to maintain it (the park) and now people cant use it, she said.
People have bought their family homes here. I think at first a lot of people were really scared, but now they are angry.
She said she felt disheartened by the Probation Services failure to identify the park in their assessment.
Theyre supposed to protect us - they didnt do that and now theyre telling us they cant make him move, she continued. We want him gone. Its not fair.
Elsie Blundell, the MP for Heywood and Middleton North, said she was extremely disappointed the Probation Service has not carried out checks sufficiently, adding that sexual offenders released from custody have no place near settings or local amenities frequented by children or young people.
The safety and security of my constituents especially of children is my highest priority as the Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton North, Elsie Blundell MP told the M.E.N.
I am clear that sexual offenders released from custody have no place near settings or local amenities frequented by children or young people and I wrote to the Probation Service to raise my grave concerns as soon as I was made aware of this particular case.
The onus is on the Probation Services to carry out thorough and rigorous checks to ensure that the location of these offenders, upon release, is predicated on the nature of crimes they have committed.
I am extremely disappointed that the Probation Service, in this instance, has not carried out these checks sufficiently and that a presence of a childrens park was not identified in the location of this particular offender.
In representing my constituents concerns in this area, I wrote to Lord Timpson, the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, who has agreed, in turn, to conduct a review of the Address Checks (Post Custody) Policy Framework. I have been assured that the Ministry of Justice will publish this updated guidance in July this year.
I understand that the proposed updates within the review include changes to clarify and strengthen the particular arrangements for checking addresses proposed by sex offenders. This will ensure that probation officials can make a fully informed decision when determining whether to approve a proposed address something which has not happened in this instance.
All families should have the confidence that their local parks, green spaces and play areas are safe and secure for their children to enjoy.
I will be actively monitoring developments in relation to the Probation Service and will also be following the action taken by the Ministry of Justice in the coming weeks.
A Probation Service spokesperson said: "Special consideration is given to where registered sex offenders are allowed to live by a range of agencies including the Probation Service, police and local authority as part of dedicated procedures to protect the public.
These decisions are informed by the particular risks an individual poses and are actively monitored on an ongoing basis.
All offenders released on licence are supervised by probation staff and can be recalled to prison if they breach the strict conditions they are subject to."
A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson added: "GMP work with our statutory partners, including the Probation Service, to appropriately manage the individuals and their conditions, taking into account all the necessary circumstances and arrangements to ensure the safety of the community.
"All risk assessments are continually assessed and reviewed."