Pervert or legal? You make the call...

flow · Jan 28, 2013

amolitor said:
For all we know the dude's taking a photography class and is doing an assignment with a theme "fun at the fair" which happens to include some little kids because, hey, who has fun at the fair?

I would be amazed if any legitimate class encouraged the students to take pictures of kids (other than their own). Surely the teacher would be aware of that minefield, & know better than to send inexperienced photographers into it.
Even at the park (or wherever) with kids, so I'm a "legitimate presence" ... I would NEVER take pictures of kids I don't know unless possibly if they are playing with my own. I get that it's not technically illegal or wrong - but every 1 in a (insert favorite big number) that ends up being that guy -

One of the first comments from the link:

"This happened 6 years ago, way to be on top of breaking news...Ralph Cameron Lakin, 55, La Palma, was convicted of eight misdemeanor counts of secretly photographing underage girls for sexual gratification. He was sentenced to four years of formal probation, given 100 hours of community service, and he ordered to register as a sex offender."

is why parents have to worry about anyone. Someone out JUST to take pictures of kids, not even there with one of their own? Just No. Go take pictures of something else.
No need to attack them ... but I would leave the area, quickly.

Tee · Jan 28, 2013

I guess nobody heard the part that the dude was secretive in photographing the girl. That changes the intent. And with bhops update, I guess this closes the "what do you think" portion of this thread. :lol:

thunderkyss · Jan 28, 2013

Tee said:
I guess nobody heard the part that the dude was secretive in photographing the girl. That changes the intent. And with bhops update, I guess this closes the "what do you think" portion of this thread.

Again, we really don't know how "secretive" this guy's picture taking was. We only have the father of the victim's side of the story & the reporter..

I'd like to think I wouldn't have thought nothing of it & just watched for the guy, but who knows. One he was pointed out to me, I may have noticed him acting funny, then confronted him.

I'm not the kind of guy who just runs up & tackle a guy either. I'd yell out to him to get his attention, "Hey Mother...... were you just taking pictures of my little girl?" depending on how he reacted there's no telling how the story would go from there. However, I would fully expect an officer of the law to flash his badge, tell me he's a cop & he's armed, then try to explain what the I saw.... or what the woman in the next booth saw.

For him not to do so & the "secretive" description, tells me something's not right.

I wouldn't have a problem with someone walking around taking pictures who happens to take a picture of my kid. When my daughters played softball, it happened all the time. When I made eye contact with the camera man, we'd share a smile & most likely say something. But I can't imagine someone "secretly" taking pictures in a public place.

Mike_E · Jan 28, 2013

runnah said:
As a new dad I wouldn't take too kindly to some stranger, photographer or not. Those without kids don't know how protective you become. There are millions of more photos to take out there than someone's kid.

Don't give me. Load about rights, public space etc... It's common sense to not violate people's privacy and personal space.

There's nothing like the sheer terror of being a new parent. I've reared two to semi-adulthood of my own and several others in varying degrees so I'm well versed.

However, don't let your paranoia supersede the Legitimate rights of others. It won't end well for anyone involved and I can't imagine having someone have to tell my kids why they were hauling me off to jail so I doubt that you'd care for it either.

brian_f2.8 · Jan 28, 2013

just because he is a cop doesnt allow him to take pics. i agree with the dad and i would do the same. now if the guy was affiliated with the event taking pics he should ask first.

Tee · Jan 28, 2013

thunderkyss said:
Again, we really don't know how "secretive" this guy's picture taking was. We only have the father of the victim's side of the story & the reporter..

Allow me to rephrase. He was secretive. I'm not deriving that from only the video but what was posted from bhop and this news article which says he was secretly photographing young girls in the first sentence. Ex-cop pleads guilty to taking sexual photos of girls | lakin, girls, young - News - The Orange County Register

In my crazy mind I imagine law abiding photographers who want to photograph children to approach the parents, explain who they are, why they want to do it and perhaps give a business card or website as a reference. Not sneak up, take a picture and high tail it out of here. Sometimes it is what is: creepy people doing creepy things.

flow · Jan 28, 2013

You're not crazy Tee. That's exactly what they do. We see local reporters at events all the time - and they always ask first, tell you who they're shooting for, introduce themselves before they take any pics of your kid. At a big event (state fair or something), you probably wouldn't even notice them, and they certainly couldn't ask every one of the 1000s who might wander into a shot, but this has been our experience at smaller events.

CCericola · Jan 28, 2013

I watched the video. I think the cop might not be a very good cop. Did you see the dad? He looks like my toddler could take him down.

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Lmphotos · Jan 28, 2013

I would of pepper sprayed him then broke his camera.....

Designer · Jan 28, 2013

skieur said:
Seems like an over-reaction on the part of the parent.

No, dad is correct.

I've seen it myself. Some years ago I was manning a fair booth, and some guy took a picture of a young girl rather surreptitiously in front of the next booth. I was going to alert the girl's parents, but the guy left the area very quickly.

At times such as this, I fall back on the old axiom: If there's smoke, there's fire.