Madeleine West reveals how she led federal police to a TikTok ‘pedophile’

After she found out a young girl was being followed on TikTok by a man, Madeleine West discovered something shocking that led her straight to the federal police.

Actress Madeleine West led federal police to a “pedophile” who told nine-year-old girls on social media they were sexy and he wanted to see them naked.

The former Neighbours and Underbelly star turned detective after discovering a young girl she knew – and 12 of her friends – were being followed on TikTok and other platforms by a predator, with no followers himself or content on his page.

West’s determination to unmask offenders stems from her own childhood sexual abuse, revealed 18 months ago through the True Crime Australia’s Predatory podcast.

She went on to confront her abuser, Peter White, in court, with a powerful victim impact statement, before he was sentenced to nine years’ jail.

Madeleine West turned detective after discovering a young girl she knew – and 12 of her friends – were being followed on TikTok. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Noting social media had made a predator’s job far simpler than back when she was targeted, West reported the nine-year-old girl’s matter to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), who are now investigating.

She said a simple “search on Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for accounts with various iterations of (the girl) named” set off alarm bells.

Madeleine West speaks with students from The Living School as a safe on Social ambassador. Picture: Natalie Grono

“I found that she had a public picture account, which was loaded up the videos of her doing, what nine year old kids do you know, dancing around in her PJ’s house with various other little friends,” she said.

West stopped the person on Tiktok. Picture: AFP

“I scrolled through the little girl’s followers and identified 12 other girls of similar age from the local area who also had public accounts, and then took it upon myself to talk to all their parents, and they didn’t know either, so we repeated this and shut down all the accounts.”

She then cross checked their followers – and discovered something sinister.

West’s plight to unmask offenders stems from her own childhood sexual abuse. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I found one particular character who had red flags for me was he had no content on his account, and he had no followers himself, but he followed 4025 accounts,” she said.

“So I cross checked the first 200 and discovered they were all children under nine.”

“So then I started trolling through their accounts and identified the comments he was putting on their posts. And these comments were along the lines of, you’ve got such a sexy body. Can I see you with your clothes off?

“And most pertinently, please put your face in the video. Can I see a post of your face.”

West took screenshots of his profile, followers list, and the comments and – with the parents’ permission – sent them and the URL to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation or (ACCCE).

“We also sent to eSafety and the federal police contacted me within hours – because this was a dead set pedophile,” she said.

Listen to Madeleine West and Gary Jubelin’s podcast, Predatory, below.

The underage accounts were reported to TikTok which removed the girls’ accounts.

The AFP this week confirmed they received the tip off from West and were investigating.

Since Predatory and her own abuser’s court case, West has worked as an adviser for Warriors Advocacy, which connects survivors who have been in prison make a disclosure statement and pursue a civil settlement.

Her role is about helping Warriors reach more people, including those who have been sexually abused by family members and in the community, and women who have suffered domestic violence.