Woman reveals how her father killed himself after being exposed by vigilantes – one of EIGHT men who
The daughter of a man who took his own life after being filmed by vigilantes has spoken out about the harrowing moment she a Facebook video naming her father as a paedophile, Daily Mail reported.
Michael Duff was one of eight men who committed suicide in the past six years after being shamed on the internet in 'paedophile hunter stings'.
He was questioned by police after footage allegedly showing him attempting to meet a 15-year-old for sex was posted online by a paedophile vigilante group known as 'True Justice'.
The 67-year-old was questioned on suspicion of attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming and released on bail.
His body was found two days later in July 2015, at his home in Tyne and Wear.
His daughter Lesley Henderson only found out her father had allegedly messaged a young girl when a friend warned her about a video circulating on social media.
She told the Victoria Derbyshire programme: 'My friend said, "look, I don't really know how to say this to you Lesley, but there's a video going round on Facebook - it's your dad".
'It was on Facebook and I could already see mutual friends had viewed it, so there was nothing I could do.'
She told her daughter, then 15, 'your grandad's a paedophile' and showed her the video - something she later regretted.
Someone she knew then posted footage of him being carried from his house to an ambulance in a body bag on Facebook.
Michael Duff was questioned by police after footage allegedly showing him attempting to meet a 15-year-old for sex was posted online (pictured)
Lesley and her daughter did not speak to Michael again after the allegations were made and she says she will never know the truth behind the claims.
She said she never suspected he 'had another side which might lead him to contact a child'.
His death has left his family with unanswered questions regarding his alleged actions.
The Victoria Derbyshire show also highlighted the case of married Robert Pearson, from Honley, West Yorkshire. The 56-year-old took his own life last year after he was jailed for sending sexually explicit texts to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy
Lesley had not spoken to her father since the allegations were made
Lesley told the BBC: 'This could have been a one-off thing where he's done something stupid.
'I know people would say, 'well the thought was there', but the reality is he may not have actually committed any crime at all.
'We don't know, because as soon as he [took his own life] the case was closed.
'I don't know what was on my dad's computer, if anything, and I'm never going to know because somebody deemed to put it all over Facebook rather than letting police deal with it.'
The case was later referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and officers contacted those who uploaded the video and asked them to remove it as it 'formed part of a live investigation'.
The True Justice website later deleted the video.
Lesley on her wedding day, with her father Michael Duff. She did not speak to him again after the footage emerged
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