POLICE SMASH DOOR TO SEIZE ONLINE PREDATOR IN DARLINGTON
Darlington, 28 September 2025 — A man identified as Steve Meynell, of Darlington, has been arrested following an online child protection operation conducted by The Ghosts in collaboration with the Child Online Safety Team (C.O.S.T.).
According to the group, Meynell engaged in sexually explicit conversations with two of their decoy profiles posing as children.
When officers attended his property, he allegedly refused to open the door, prompting police to force entry.
He was subsequently taken into custody.
The sting was carried out by decoy operatives Luke and Peyton Ghost, who tracked Meynell’s online activity and provided evidence to the authorities.
The Ghosts, along with affiliated safeguarding teams, regularly carry out online operations aimed at identifying individuals seeking to exploit children.
The groups say their work continues to shine a light on offenders and support law enforcement in tackling online child abuse.
This is a probabilistic continent or country-group signal from public name datasets. It is not proof of nationality, ethnicity or personal background.
Likely region signal
UK
Country
from United Kingdom
- based on surname
89.4%
confidence
First-name region
UK
United States
40.4%
Surname region
UK
United Kingdom
89.4%
Court Outcome
Conviction and Sentencing Details
Reported Arrest
Detected legal outcome
Darlington, 28 September 2025 - A man identified as Steve Meynell, of Darlington, has been arrested following an online child protection operation conducted by The Ghosts in collaboration with the Child Online Safety Team (C.O.S.T.). Acc...
