Parents not told about paedophile careworker
Northumbria PoliceA council has apologised for failing to inform parents of looked-after children that a former childcare worker had been convicted of child sex offences.
Mark Campbell had unsupervised access to their children through his work at North Tyneside Council at the time of his offending last year.
The council suspended him when he was arrested, but parents did not find out until reading media reports after he was jailed, with one saying she was "shaking" when she read about his crimes.
The council said it was "sorry some families learned about this matter online rather than hearing from us directly", but there had been legal limitations on what could be shared before he was sentenced.
Campbell's offences were revealed when he was caught in a police sting sending messages to what he thought was a young teenage girl in July 2025.
The offences are not believed to have involved children from his work at the council's Family Time team, where his responsibilities included providing unsupervised transport for vulnerable children to and from family visits.
'I want answers'
One mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she was "in shock" because Campbell had taken her children swimming.
"I felt physically sick knowing he had been around my children," said the woman, who we are calling Laura.
"He was in a cubicle, he could have been looking at any child, not just mine. I can't get it out my head."
Laura said she "felt physically sick" when a friend sent her a news article reporting on his sentencing.
"Every single person who he has had contact with should have been notified on his charge," she said.
Laura wants to quiz the council about how it can be certain no child in its care was affected.
"I'm just angry," she said. "I want answers. They need to answer the questions."
A council spokesperson said: "At no point have the police informed us that any children in care were involved in this case."
Unsupervised access
Another mother, who we are calling Sarah to protect her identity, said she felt "so angry" at the discovery because Campbell had had unsupervised contact with her children.
"I changed my daughter's nappy in front of him," she said.
"In one session, he said my daughter was beautiful. I didn't think he was anyone to be worried about.
"I can't get that comment out of my head now."
After catching him in the sting, police officers also discovered indecent images of children on his mobile phone.
The 52-year-old army veteran pleaded guilty to all charges in June 2026 and was jailed for 18 months last week.
"These kids have already been through enough to be in the position they were in," Sarah said.
"I don't know if he's got pictures of my children, that's the worst thing.
"If [the council] handled it properly, it would not have caused so much upset. If they had the children's best interests at heart, they would have told us."
North Tyneside Council, which is under Labour control, said it immediately suspended Campbell after being notified of his arrest by the police and he was later sacked.
Director of children's services Rebecca Wall said: "We are sorry some families learned about this matter online rather than hearing from us directly.
"We know parents place immense trust in us, and we recognise how unsettling this situation will be for many."
She said the council's "ambition" was to be as open and transparent as possible, but there had been legal limitations on what could be shared while the case progressed through court.
"As soon as we became aware of the outcome, we took immediate steps to contact families and provide reassurance and support," Wall said.
Conservative councillor Lewis Bartoli, who represents the Tynemouth ward, said the council should have proactively kept across the court proceedings to warn parents at the earliest opportunity.
"There's no doubt this was a difficult process, but once he pleaded guilty was the point the council should have contacted parents.
"You can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to find out third hand through social media," Bartoli said, adding: "It leaves more questions than answers. It's a real failure."
A council spokesperson said: "We remain committed to listening to families' concerns and responding to any questions they may have."
