it only ended because he happened to get caught in the act at an event.
Always. Always. Always.
I’m not huge on holding people legally accountable for the actions of others; but I do think that adults who ignore children telling they’re being abused are also guilty on some level of abuse.
My former bully had been creating deepfakes with social media and photos he’d taken at youth events. Probably would have gone on much longer but he tried to catfish them and was caught.
You can say, “I love kids.” as a general statement, that’s fine. It’s when you get specific you get into trouble.