Man caught taking pictures of a little girl
PRESIDENT RIDGE – A mother is terrified of her daughter's safety in play area at a restaurant.
A man was caught taking photos of a little girl at Spur Steak Ranches in Brightwater Commons on 14 November.
The mother of the girl said her daughter was in the play area when they were having dinner and she realised a man was taking a picture of her.
She then quickly alerted management.
They acted fast enough along with the waiters and took the man’s phone and went through it where they allegedly discovered more than 10 pictures of other children.
“The assisting lady was not more than 100m away from my daughter and she said that she heard this strange man asking to take a picture of my daughter,” said the mother, who wishes to be to anonymous.
She was angry and said the assistant let that man do as he pleased and did not report him.
She added that when the perpetrator was questioned, he did not speak English.
But when she asked her daughter what the man had said to her, her daughter said that he asked to take a picture of her in English.
“I was really scared and I was shaking, to think that someone had invaded my daughter’s space, nothing has ever been scarier,” said the mother.
Spur posted on Facebook that no attempted kidnapping occurred.
The owner of the Spur at Brightwater Commons, John Fuller confirmed that the incident did happen.
He said that the man was a customer and that he was there with his children.
“He did not mean any harm,” said the owner.
Fuller added that the man was taking pictures of his children where other children happened to be in the background.
The owner further added that there will be notices put up to advise people that they cannot take pictures of the children in the play area.
The mother went on to comment and said, “Just because he is a parent, it does not make him any any less dangerous.”
She added that she will not open a case with the police.
Brightwater Commons marketing officer Talitha Spykerman commented,
“We called the owner of the Spur and we are happy about the way the situation was resolved,” said Spykerman.
She added that the restaurants are responsible for their own security.
For information on safety tips for children from the SAPS, please check the website
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