Residents in the affluent Porirua suburb of Whitby have hounded out an intellectually disabled man in a vicious smear campaign, wrongly labelling him a paedophile.
The man, a resident in an IHC home, was about to start a job in the suburb when he was shifted for his own safety.
Disgusted police have countered an anonymous leaflet drop with their own fliers clearing the man of the allegations.
Officers suspect the vigilante antics are a spinoff from the hysteria whipped up in the West Coast town of Blackball, where a convicted paedophile was forced to leave.
IHC says the man is struggling to understand why he has been singled out. But the residents say the misunderstanding could have been cleared up if IHC had been up-front with them earlier.
Mana community constable Rob Gregory said the man, in his 40s, had "never been a problem to anyone in his life. Someone just decided to print this thing (pamphlet) and decided he was a paedophile. There was no reason for it. I know him personally and he's no paedophile."
The pamphlet was distributed to homes and schools last weekend - including the home where the man was living. It describes him as "a danger to your children/grandchildren". It asks recipients to warn their neighbours and gives a detailed description, including the fact he has no teeth.
- NZPA
