Moment paedo arrested after being caught with six-year-old girl on street – before cops make terrifying discovery
THIS IS the moment where two police officers caught a known paedophile using Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology.
The sex offender was picked up by officers who made a chilling discovery when they reached him.
David Cheneler, 76, was found with a six-year-old girl in the shocking footage.
The incident occurred on January 10, this year, in the busy Denmark Hill area of London.
Officers can be heard telling him to “keep his voice down” while he shouted and held an arm up to a female police officer.
The known sex offender said that he was taking the girl “from school to her mum” and claimed that they had taken the “wrong bus”.
One cop responded by reminding Cheneler that he was banned from being alone with any child below the age of 14, due to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).
Cheneler tried bargaining with the officers in the video, captured by a body cam, by offering to show them “something you won’t probably find”.
In exchange, he asked the officers to “undo him” – in a reference to his handcuffs.
Following that, the registered sex offender made a chilling admission saying: “It’s a little knife, I’ve got on me”.
Officers retrieved a lock knife from his belt buckle and before arresting him for breaching the order.
The cop, who had told Cheneler to keep his voice down, read him his rights before hauling him to the station.
The LFR technology had been fitted on a police van in Denmark Hill and was scanning for known offenders in the area.
Further enquiries by cops uncovered that Cheneler had picked up the girl as a favour to her mother – something he had done twice before, after building up a relationship with them over a year.
However, the unnamed girl’s mother was unaware of the sex offender’s SOPO.
Cheneler was jailed for two years on May 20, after pleading guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and breaking the terms of his SOPO.
The Sexual Offences Prevention Order in 2019, after being convicted of 15 counts of indecent assault on a girl under 16.
He had also been convicted of five counts of gross indecency with a child between 1968 and 1993, which led to a nine-year prison term,
After Cheneler’s arrest in 2025, the Met’s lead for Live Facial Recognition said that the operation wouldn’t have been possible without facial recognition.
Lindsey Chiswick said: “The Met is committed to making London safer, using data and technology to identify offenders that pose a risk to our communities.
“This is a prime example of the variety of uses for LFR. The tool is not only used to find those wanted, but also to stop people on a watch list who have conditions they must adhere to.
“These interventions are crucial. Without this technology, Cheneler may have had the opportunity to cause further harm.”
Detective Constable Adam Pearce, who led the investigation, added: “This is a prime example of how the Met is using technology to remove dangerous offenders from our streets, and Live Facial Recognition remains an important tool in protecting Londoners.
“Although there were no allegations made towards David Cheneler on this occasion, it’s possible if he hadn’t been identified using this technology, he could have gone on to abuse this child.
“Her mother was completely unaware of his offending history, and along with her young daughter, were both taken advantage of by Cheneler who abused their trust.”