A PAEDOPHILE killed himself days after a baying vigilante mob stormed his house.And today his solicitor Milton Firman claimed James White had "literally been scared to death". White told his wife and children he had taken an overdose to spare them from the mob which had driven them from their Chadderton home. His last words to his wife Jean and their five children were: "I did it to protect you."Mr Firman said the vigilantes had been spurred on by the News of the World campaign to name and shame paedophiles. White took an overdose two days after the newspaper abandoned its campaign. Mr Firman said: "He was scared out of his wits. That is what drove him to this."Grandfather White, aged 54, had been driven out of his home after he admitted committing sex offences against children. He had pleaded guilty at Oldham magistrates' court to three charges of indecently assaulting young girls in 1988 and 1991 but denied four other accusations dating back to 1982 and 1988.More than 70 residents gathered outside his house at Medway Road, Hollins, hurling bricks and threatening to firebomb the property after his secret past was unearthed. He was due to appear before magistrates again yesterday to face two charges of indecently assaulting a four-year-old girl in 1993, but he was forced to flee to Chorley under police guard on Wednesday.It is believed he took the overdose on Sunday morning and died hours later in Chorley Hospital. His family said today they have been dogged by death threats since the charges were revealed.A family member said: "The people left behind are innocent, they deserved none of this. This man was their husband, father and grandfather and he never did anything to cause them any concern. Their world was blown apart when they found out about this."No one is condoning what he did, it was wrong, but his wife, his children and his grandchildren are not the ones to suffer and blame. He was driven to kill himself because of the gangs who took matters into their own hands. He did it to spare his family any more months of hell."White was never named in the paper but it is believed he was terrified of appearing in the News of the World list. Today local parents at Medway Road defended their actions. One father said: "We have a right to know who lives in our street so that we can protect our children. I do not condone death threats to his family but he is the one that has put them through this, not us."A mother-of-four said: "I have no sympathy but I agree his family are not to blame. He was an animal and he probably got off lightly taking his own life like this." Police said: "We never condone vigilante action."
