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Dublin Street in Monasterverin
# Kildare
Man mistaken for sex offender confronted on street after photo shared on news site's Facebook page
The publication has released an apology after an image of the wrong man was shared by a commenter on its Facebook page.
THE NEWS PUBLICATION Kildare Now has issued an apology, after a photograph of a man mistakenly believed to be a sex offender was wrongly shared by a commenter on its Facebook page, which led to an altercation between the innocent man and a number of locals in the Kildare town of Monasterevin.
Local councillor Thomas Redmond told TheJournal.ie that the incident occurred outside a pub in the town.
“It’s terrible,” he said, “that this could happen due to a case of mistaken identity”.
The publication issued a clarification and apology on its site yesterday, explaining how the situation arose.
An article had been published, it said, based on “the concerns of parents in Monasterevin and elsewhere” that a convicted sex offender had been seen in the area.
When it posted the article to Facebook, a commenter posted a picture of a completely innocent person “who they believed looked like” this sex offender and “who was seen in Monasterevin”.
“As a result an altercation took place between locals and that innocent person,” it said.
KildareNow would like to unreservedly apologise to that innocent person who gardaí also confirmed it was not [the man they had named in the article].
It asked that no one share further images of the innocent person on social media platforms.
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