Videotape of girl destroyed
Man warned after taping inappropriate shots
August 08, 2007
YORK — Police urge caution and a sharp eye, after officers last week asked a man to destroy a videotape he had taken of a girl at Short Sands Beach. Police said it is not a crime to videotape people, and so the man was not arrested.
During the afternoon of Aug. 1, a woman notified police that a man was videotaping her daughter at the beach. According to police, a 50-year-old male was taking video of the girl as she was talking on her cell phone. When police officers viewed the video, they noted that it contained inappropriate close-up shots of portions of the girl's body.
Officers asked the man to destroy the video, which he did. They also warned the subject not to return to Short Sand Park.Police Sgt. Thomas Baran said that the girl's mother acted appropriately by reporting the incident.
"We would encourage people to report this type of activity," he said.While there is no law against videotaping, Baran said any seemingly suspicious attention given to children could be cause for concern. He also said that the lifeguards at York's beaches are being trained to recognize behavior typical to pedophiles."It is important that we can identify these people," he said.