Men with minivan and camera ’motioning and yelling’ to schoolkids, says parent witness
Parents in Melton fear “strange” men in a van are filming children as they walk to school on one of the suburb’s busiest student thoroughfares, with police calling for witnesses to come forward.
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Parents in Melton fear “strange” men in a van are filming children as they walk to school on one of the suburb’s busiest student thoroughfares.
The Leader understands a silver mini van with interstate registration plates was parked on the corner of Clarkes Rd and Botanica Springs Blvd on Sunday and Monday mornings.
One mother, who was too scared to reveal her identity, said she saw three men lurking next to the van about 8.30am yesterday.
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“One man had a big camera like the ones news crews have but less high-tech and I saw him yelling at kids and motioning for them to come towards him,” she said.
“It was strange the way he was doing it.
“One man was leaning against the van and seemed to be texting and the other man was in the backseat and also seemed to be texting.”
The mother then drove up the road, turned around and drove past the men again when she noticed they were “yelling and motioning” to children on the other side of the road.
“The kids were being approached, walking away and then going back to the man again like they were being coached to do something,” she said.
“I’ve got kids of my own so this was freaking me out.
“It’s really scary because this road is absolutely packed with kids and buses going to school every morning.”
Another Melton mother, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Leader she saw the same group of men filming children on Sunday morning about 10am and again on Monday.
“I saw the man with the camera got one boy to walk towards him and then he started filming,” she said.
“The world is crazy these days so you just never know what they were up to, but I know if I was a parent and had my children walking down that road and being filmed I would want those people filming to ring me and to get my permission.”
Leading Senior Constable Natalie Dean confirmed police responded to reports of a “suspicious van” in Melton on Monday.
“Investigators have been told a silver van was stationary at the intersection of Clarkes Rd and Botanica Springs Boulevard about 8.30am,” she said.
“Patrolling units were unable to locate the van and the registration provided was not recorded on any database.”
“Police advise anyone who sees anyone acting suspicious to contact 000 and report the matter immediately to police.”
Nearby schools Wedge Park Primary and Catholic Regional College had not been alerted to any reports of a suspicious van in the area.
St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School was also contacted by the Leader.
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