Suspected pedophile's details leaked in police mistake

A police order to search the home of a man suspected in a sex crime case involving a minor, was found on the street by a reporter from Hart van Nederland in the Friesland village of Warten. The document contained the suspect's name and address details.

The document states that a home was to be searched elsewhere in Friesland based on Article 245 of the Criminal Code, which concerns sexual acts with a minor. It also states that the police intended to arrest the man and confiscate his cell phone.

According to Hart van Nederland, the reporter found the search warrant while reporting on another case. It is believed that a police officer working on both cases lost the document while working on the case the reporter was reporting on.

A police spokesperson reacted surprised when the broadcaster confronted her with the document. She said that the police regrets the mistake, adding that it was not intentional, according to Hart van Nederland. The involved officer will be addressed and an investigation will be launched into how this could have happened. According to newspaper AD, a police spokesperson said that such things "can happen".

The suspect's family told the broadcaster that they are shocked by the police blunder.

Politie blundert: gevoelige informatie over zedenzaak met minderjarige op straathttps://t.co/DXrzEKiUIO pic.twitter.com/4L7ipAk4eR

— Hart van Nederland (@HartvNL) January 14, 2018