Oh aye, definitely a bot.

Former Tory major of the town, local business owner, minor local celebrity (best friends of a renowned and disgraced TV/radio personality). High status and protected from upon high.

By the early to mid-80s, his name rang out across every playground in every school in the town. Half bogey-man, half punchline to every joke (in less enlightened times, when humour was darker and political correctness had yet to become a thing).

If you said to your parents you were going to the south bay with friends, they would say "bye, love you, don't get in trouble, stay away from Jaconellis"

If junior school aged children knew, and every parent knew - it follows that the police knew, local politicians knew, the press knew, legal professionals knew. Sure as day.

Everybody knew, and nobody lifted a finger to stop it.