Leeds Women’s Aid Statement:

On 9th September 2022, a resident at the Leeds Domestic Violence Service (LDVS) refuge run by Leeds Women’s Aid (LWA) was taken into police custody. The individual had used an identity, and related official documents in the same name, to access the refuge, and in doing so they concealed their previous convictions for child sex offences.

Once the person’s true identity and crimes were revealed, we alerted the police and the individual was taken into custody. At no time were we aware of their previous identity or crimes.
LWA is taking this extremely seriously and we are undertaking a thorough investigation. We have not found evidence of any crimes having been committed during the period when the person was resident with us.

LWA has been an established and highly regarded service for the last 50 years. The safety of service users and staff is paramount and the appropriate support is being put in place. LWA’s priority remains victims-survivors, and we want all survivors to be able to access the support they need when accessing domestic abuse services.

Nik Peasgood, Chief Executive of LWA, said, “We are appalled that someone with such crimes could come to a women’s refuge using a different identity. We are aware that a criminal using authenticated identification could access any housing provider’s services, and we are not unique in being manipulated in this way.
We have informed children’s services and are working with our closest stakeholders, including Leeds City Council and Women’s Aid Federation England, and will share any learning with our sector in order to improve safety of victims-survivors.”

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