Mum chased stranger in Caulfield’s Princes Park after believing he was photographing her son

A PANICKED mother who chased after a stranger in Melbourne’s south believed the man was taking photos of her young son as he played in a park.

A concerned mum chased down a man who she believed was photographing her son in a park.

A PANICKED mother who chased after a man believed he was taking photos of her young son as he played in a park.

The Moorabbin woman said she was reading a book while her primary-aged child played in Caulfield’s Princes Park when another mum told her a man was photographing the boy.

“I started walking to this man — he started walking really fast away from me and I caught up to him and said: ‘What are you doing taking photos of my son?’” the woman, who didn’t want to be named, said.

“I said: ‘I want you to delete the photos you’ve just taken of my son.’ He said I was being paranoid … he was trying to get away from me.”

She said the man was then joined by a woman at his four-wheel drive and the concerned mum took a note of his numberplate.

“As much as I wanted to rip the camera out of his hands I went back,” she said. “I was pretty shaken.

“It made me really uncomfortable and upset to think that someone (could be) using my child’s image for their sick pleasure.”

The mum said she called triple-0 but no officers attended or phoned her back so she went to Moorabbin Police Station to report the incident.

Kingston Police Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team Senior Sergeant David Quirk said police were investigating this incident but people should be aware that photographing a child in a public place was not illegal — depending on the nature of the images.

“Child pornography is if the image is of a sexual nature,” Sen-Sgt Quirk said.

“With taking photos of kids in the park playing, unfortunately what the community thinks is to always have the worst case scenario (in mind).”

However, Sen-Sgt Quirk said incidents such as this were not common and if any parent encountered a situation where they were concerned about their child they should call triple-0.

“Police can attend and speak to the person if they are still there and view the camera to determine whether the images are inappropriate or not,” Sen-Sgt Quirk said.

Sen-Sgt Quirk said anyone with information on the incident at Princes Park should contact Moorabbin Police on 9556 6565 while people with their own concerns could contact their local police station.