Following an exclusive article published by Neil Wilby Media yesterday (read in full here), a short statement has been obtained from one of the two principal subjects.
Former Greater Manchester Police sergeant, Rick Pendlebury, currently serves as Head of Safeguarding and Legal Advocacy Manager for the rape survivors’ charity, The Maggie Oliver Foundation (TMOF). He has been accused of making false allegations against a notorious internet troll, stalker and harasser, Paul Ponting (also widely known as ‘The Ormskirk Vigilante’).
Rick Pendlebury says:
“There is an investigation ongoing and I am, obviously, limited as to what I can say pending its outcome.
“I can confirm, however, that I will co-operate fully with any investigation and any or all allegations made by Paul Ponting are robustly denied.
“My work with survivors and police forces around the country has continued as normal since the allegations surfaced last week
“The full story can be told once the investigation has concluded”
Paul Ponting did not acknowledge the email carrying a right to reply invitation. He did, however, post on his @UKCP_temp Twitter (X) feed that the author of this article had, again, been reported to the police and was ‘under investigation’.
Other enquiries by Neil Wilby, and contacts with survivors who have previously been associated with Ponting, suggest that the latter’s latest petty obsession centres around a refusal to allow him to attend TMOF’s annual charity ball which took place this year on 18th May, 2024.
An event he was, surprisingly, allowed to attend last year, given his antecedents. Not least as he was on conditional police bail over stalking, harassment and assault allegations at the time. Ponting, still, in theory at least, restrained by that same bail, denies wrongdoing.
Also, at that same time, he was restrained by one permanent and one temporary injunction following stalking and harassment findings against him by circuit judges in civil courts in Liverpool and Manchester (read more here).
Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.
Page last updated: Tuesday 30th May, 2024 at 1015 hours
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Picture credit: TMOF
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