Blair, NE.—A man dubbed the “Canterbury Cannibal” after being convicted of trying to eat a teenage girl in England has settled in Blair, and neighbors are not thrilled.
Dale Bolinger, 62, was convicted in 2014 in Canterbury, England, of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, and possession and distribution of indecent materials.
Bolinger told a person who said she was a 14-year-old girl that he wanted to behead her and eat her after they had sex, according to British newspapers’ accounts of the trial. The girl did not show up at the time the two had arranged to meet.
British police were reportedly alerted about Bolinger during the 2013 trial of 30-year-old New York City Police Officer Gilberto Valle, who was convicted of plotting to kidnap, murder and eat women. Valle and Bolinger exchanged messages about their fantasies.
Bolinger, an American citizen, was sentenced to nine years in prison. It’s unclear why he was released and deported.
He arrived in the area last week and registered Jan. 4 as a sex offender living on Todd Drive in Blair.
Calls to the home and its owner were not returned Friday.
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Sylvia Kasper lives in the neighborhood and told KMTV that she’s worried about the safety of the kids she watches.
“It’s making my heart race,” Kasper said. “It’s scary considering I have a small day care, and now I really have to watch and keep doors locked.”
Washington County Sheriff Mike Robinson said his office has received a couple of phone calls from residents worried about Bolinger. He talked personally with one person who has young daughters and lives nearby.
Robinson doesn’t believe that Bolinger previously lived in the area. He said he wasn’t certain of the connection between Bolinger and the Todd Drive address.
“We’re just as frustrated as everybody else.”
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