I have a neighbor that lives about a block away from me. Recently, he’s asked my niece and some other kids (both boys and girls) in the area if he could take pictures of them (while they were standing around outside with their clothes on).
My neighbor:
is a middle aged white male,
lives alone,
is known to spend much of his time on the internet,
doesn’t know these children personally or casually,
lied to my brother when my brother asked him if he (the neighbor) asked to take pictures of my niece and her friends (by becoming angry and defensive and calling the group of children “the little fucking liars”).
I looked up the Sexual Offenders Registar for my police beat, and my neighbor was not listed there.
My questions are:
Am I overreacting?
Could my neighbor have a motivation in this case that is not sexual in nature?
Why didn’t my neighbor ask the children’s parents instead of asking minors (ages 7-13) to take their pictures?
What could be his true motivation if it’s not sexual? Any ideas?
Would a group of children lie in this case? Would you believe my adult neighbor or a group of children?
To answer the last first, children do lie, singly and in groups.
Talk to the neighbor, maybe he’s trying to win a photo contest for the county fair or illustrate an article he’s written for the city newspaper.
My rational side says: Don’t start heating up the boiling oil just 'cause he’s an old bachelor.
My paranoid side says: Don’t leave kids alone with him.
Maybe - so far you’ve looked up some info from the police, and posted to the SDMB, apparently for advice, but possibly to tap our psychic abilities. What further or other acts are you considering? (BTW, your description of the neighbor - items 1-3 apply to probably 10-20% of society at large)
Yes.
Maybe he just didn’t think of it. He also likely didn’t know who the parents were. If the kids are out in public, he really doesn’t need anyone’s permission to take pictures.
Maybe he thought they looked interesting, or funny, and wanted to capture the moment. Maybe he’s an artist who uses the photo’s instead of live models (for art - not anything devious). Maybe he’s a photographer who saw an opportunity to add to his portfolio with some candids.
Kids lie all the time. They exagerate circumstances and details, and fabricate memories readily. I’d tend to look for some middle ground, particularly if the kids act ‘absolutely sure’ about their experience.
There is a whole lot of context you are leaving out here – did he approach the kids and ask them to pose; or did he take a few photos and politely ask the kids if they minded?
Were the kids creeped out by him? Was your brother? Not that creepiness is some objective evidence, but subjective data is useful in forming an opinion.
His angry and defensive response may have been justified, depending upon your brothers approach to him – did your brother accuse him of something? Like being a pervert? People tend to get defensive if they feel attacked.
OTOH, he could be a potential, or current, child molester. Clothed pictures work just fine for the truly deviant. So the question is, what to do?
Firstly, I’d ask for copies of any photo’s he took of the children. Offer to pay for them, if necessary. If his purpose is innocent, this should not be a problem. Make sure you get the index print, too, or have some other means of ensuring he’s not editing the content. If he refuses, or the photos are creepy, then call the police – not 911. Ask for the sex crimes unit, if you’re in a city, otherwise just ask for a detective. Explain the situation, and ask them to talk with the guy. Be sure to stick to just the facts – embellishment won’t help, and could hurt.
Expect nothing to happen, except hurt feelings all around, in any case. Unless he’s seriously screwed up, the detectives won’t have enough for a search warrant, and probably won’t come up with anything, anyway. Perhaps the best result would be increased awareness and safety for the kids.