Offaly home 'attacked' after online grooming 'sting'
A family home in Daingean was attacked according to an online child protection group who had earlier organised a ‘sting’ of a person suspected of online grooming children at that location.
This prompted the group called The Online Guardians to issue an appeal for the property to be left alone.
“It has come to our attention that people have been attacking the property,” it posted about the location where they say the sting operation took place.
The group said of the suspect: “He has no relation to anyone living there; he was only renting a room. He is no longer at the address. Please leave the poor family alone!”.
The Online Guardians describe themselves as “a group of professionals dedicated to protecting children online”
On Sunday, the group posted details of a suspect who they say was living in Daingean. The post alleged that he had been having sexual conversations with 5 children, aged between 13 and 15, and had been confronted the previous day.
They confronted the alleged suspect at the house and he went to the side of the house but returned to the property via a side gate.
Prior to leaving, the alleged suspect said “I have no interest in any children” on the video posted by the group on social media.
The group said that its members went to the garda station and made statements after confronting the individual.
A garda spokesperson said: “Offaly Gardaí received a report of an alleged criminal matter on Saturday 29th of August, 2026”.
The spokesperson confirmed that “enquiries are ongoing”.
“No further information is available,” the garda spokesperson added.