ANDREW CHANEY CAUGHT GROOMING CHILDREN IN PORTSMOUTH BY PAEDOPHILE HUNTERS
In November 2017, a disturbing incident unfolded in Portsmouth when a father’s vigilant efforts led to the confrontation of a man accused of attempting to groom minors online.The individual in question, Andrew Chaney, aged 34, was ultimately caught on his doorstep by two dedicated paedophile hunting groups, Silent Justice and Keeping Kids Safe, who accused him of engaging in predatory behavior involving children.
According to the groups, Chaney was involved in coercing children through the use of iPhones, tablets, and memorabilia such as autographs from popular artists like One Direction and Olly Murs.
The hunters alleged that Chaney had boasted about his connections with celebrities and had promised autographs in exchange for “something special,” implying a sexual context.
During the confrontation, Chaney denied ever meeting any actual children but admitted to sending explicit photos and videos of himself performing sexual acts to decoys, who he believed were minors aged between 10 and 14.
On September 28, a particularly intense moment occurred when a furious father, who suspected his daughter was targeted, joined the paedophile hunters at Chaney’s residence in Copnor, Portsmouth.
The father recounted that he had been sitting on his hands to prevent himself from physically attacking Chaney, who he claimed had randomly messaged his underage daughter online.
When confronted, Chaney responded with a simple apology, saying, “Sorry, I didn’t realise.” A widely viewed video of this confrontation, which has been watched over 500,000 times online, captures Chaney nervously cowering behind his front door as the hunters surround him.
One of the hunters asks directly, “You’ve been talking to some children online, haven’t you?” to which Chaney sheepishly replies, “I have, yeah.
Sorry.” He then claims he was unaware of the children’s true ages and insisted he was only communicating with “about three or four” minors.
However, the paedophile hunters presented evidence that contradicted his story, revealing that the actual number of children he contacted was significantly higher.
The father, visibly angry, states, “And one of them is my daughter.” Chaney begins to shake and stutter as he responds, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise.” The father continues, “You’ve actually inboxed my daughter, and I told her to delete and block you.
My daughter’s 15 and my other daughter’s 13.” Chaney again claims ignorance about their ages, saying, “Like I said, I don’t know all the ages.” During the tense exchange, Chaney admits, “I’m sitting on my hands right now because if I weren’t the type of bloke that I am, I’d like to do harm to you.
But I am not that way.” When asked what punishment he believes he deserves, Chaney responds with despair, “I don’t deserve to live, to be honest.
I’m sorry for everything.
I shouldn’t have done it.” In a further blow, Chaney’s situation worsened as he was made homeless when his female housemate demanded he leave, and the property owner retrieved his key.
As he handed over the key, another man remarked, “Your face looks like your whole world’s just ended,” to which Chaney replied, “It has, yeah.” Shortly after, police arrived at the scene and took Chaney into custody.
He was subsequently charged and appeared before Portsmouth Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to cause a female aged 13 or over to engage in sexual activity and two counts of attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming.
On November 24, he was sentenced to 36 months in prison, and he was placed on the sex offenders register for life.
Additionally, he was issued an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, marking a severe legal response to his actions in Portsmouth.
