Man arrested after Portadown Facebook live drama due to appear in court

It has been confirmed by police that a man in his 40s has been arrested after an angry crowd gathered outside a property in the Portadown area in County Armagh, Northern Ireland The man is accused of attempted sexual communication with a child and improper use of the public electronic communications network.

He is due to appear before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, April 13.

A PSNI spokesperson said that, as is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

The man was arrested after dramatic scenes developed when representatives of Warriors for Children - which describes itself as a 'child abuse awareness page, safeguarding children and exposing online predators' - posted Facebook live videos in which a man can be seen answering his door to questions about an alleged sexual offence against a child. The Facebook live gathered huge interest online with thousands of viewers, comments and people sharing, with some people claiming to be watching from as far away as Australia.

While the entire drama was being streamed live on social media, a crowd also gathered in person outside the property. The footage shows police arriving at the scene and after a time, getting access to the property amid angry shouts from the crowd. After a while the man is seen being led out to a police vehicle, covering his head, while the crowd continue to shout and cheer.