A PAEDOPHILE is behind bars after he was spotted talking to two young boys by a police officer who remembered seeing him in prison 13 years ago.
John Hargreaves, 63, and fellow paedophile Jonathan Wales, 35, were spotted talking to the 15-year-olds in a fast food in Leyton High Road by constable Steve Samuels, who was policing a Leyton Orient versus Swindon football match in February this year.
PC Samuels used to work as a prison officer and recognised Hargreaves as an inmate.
Fearing the boys could be in danger, he and his colleague approached the men and soon established they were both subjects of orders preventing them having contact with anyone under the age of 16.
The boys, who were having lunch when they were approached by the men, were unharmed.
Both men were remanded in custody after being found guilty on July 23 of breaching Sexual Offences Prevention Orders.
Hargreaves, of Parklands Road, Wood Green, and Wales, of Beckenham Road, Beckenham, will be sentenced on August 20.
Chief Inspector Richard Munns, head of operations in Waltham Forest, said: PC Samuels hadn't seen Hargreaves for over thirteen years, making this piece of work an exceptional display of policing ability.
“The families of the boys involved were grateful that the officers intervened and that these dangerous individuals were brought to justice."
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