Man discovered lifeless in water after paedophile hunters confronted him on livestream
Paul Andrew Williams, 55, lost his job of many years after being caught in a sting operation by the group and made his intentions clear that he wanted to end his life
The man was found dead in the water near Caernarfon in Wales(Image: David Powell/North Wales Live)
A man who was targeted by paedophile hunters later took his own life, an inquest has heard.
The body of Paul Andrew Williams, 55, was found in the water near Caernarfon’s historic town walls in Wales. An inquest in Caernarfon was told how he had been arrested after The Underworld – who describe themselves as an ‘Online Child Protection Team’ – confronted Mr Williams and livestreamed the encounter on Facebook.
Police found a letter which detailed the impact of the hunters’ activities that led to him losing his job, which had been a big part of his life. On Wednesday, an assistant coroner found that Mr Williams, who had been a senior quality assurance officer for a food company, intended to end his life.
Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for North West Wales, concluded his death was due to suicide.
The inquest heard a detective from an online child abuse investigation team supervised an investigation into Mr Williams, of Palace Street, Caernarfon.
In a statement to the inquest he said a member of the public from The Underworld said they had evidence Mr Williams had been in sexual communication with three “children”.
The detective said the group conducted a sting by confronting Mr Williams and livestreaming the encounter on Facebook.
Police later arrested Mr Williams and seized his devices, which were submitted for forensic downloading.
The detective said there was no evidence of indecent images, no real-life victims and no real attempts to meet children for sexual purposes.
They also said that the case was discharged and Mr Williams was given an adult caution. The authorities were in the process of issuing the caution at the time of Mr Williams’ death.
PCSO Sarah Williams said in a statement to the inquest that CCTV footage showed Mr Williams walking past The Anglesey Arms pub to the seafront in the early hours of September 2 last year before entering the water.
At 7.16am that morning, PC Gerwyn Williams said he was made aware of a possible body in the water.
He saw a black coat in the water and a body face down about three to five metres from the shore. The coastguard arrived to retrieve the body.
Ms Riley said: “Mr Williams concluded that the only logical way forward was to end his life.” The assistant coroner gave the cause of death as drowning with a secondary cause of coronary heart disease.
The inquest also heard that Mr Williams, who was single with two daughters, had previously had a chocolate shop in Amlwch and had run a pub in Amlwch. He had worked in the food industry for 30 years.
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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