Parent upset after man allegedly photographs children
A distraught father is strongly dissatisfied with police handling of an incident in which a man allegedly impersonated a police officer and photographed children near a rural primary school.
He accused officers at District “C” Police Station of downplaying the matter after they allegedly refused to lay charges against the suspect, citing his status as a “returning national” and his age.
According to the father, the ordeal began early last week when an unknown individual approached his three daughters and two other children near a bus stop outside the school. The man reportedly asked them if he could take pictures of them, and claimed to be a police officer, when the children enquired who he was.
“The police aren’t doing enough in this situation. They tried to downplay the story, but it is so confusing. A man went around a primary school, moving like a predator. When you go in front of children and impersonate a police officer, you leave those children vulnerable. You are basically deactivating their self-defence system,” the father said.
He explained that upon discovering the incident, he immediately alerted a teacher and, the following day, school officials uncovered that several other children had similar encounters, none of which had been previously reported to parents or administration.
“If I didn’t sound the alarm, nobody would know what was going on,” he remarked.
Police eventually identified the individual through surveillance footage from nearby church and community cameras. However, the father claims that when officers visited his home to update him, they stated they could not press charges.
“I asked the police if they were going to charge the man, and the response was that ‘he is a returning national and he is old’,” the father stated.
‘Impersonating a police officer’
“I asked how they cannot bring charges when the man impersonated a police officer in front of multiple children. They told me they have nothing to put the guy in front of the court and that he is so old that the children could knock him out.”
The concerned parent emphasised that the school was situated in a remote, bushy area with limited visibility and traffic, making the presence of a potential predator even more frightening.
“It’s scary. You have a predator prowling the area after school hours. This guy didn’t ask parents for permission; he just did as he felt like . . . nothing is being done,” he said.
He further questioned if the police had confiscated the phone or even look through it to see if he had done anything with the footage.
The father is now calling for greater accountability and public awareness, arguing that the safety of children should take precedence over the suspect’s background.
“People need to know that there are predators going around schools. I feel real vulnerable right now . . . with the surroundings being so dense, it’s nerve-wracking.”
The DAILY NATION spoke to a Station Sergeant Griffith at District “C” on Friday who said he was aware of the matter and he would get back to the newspaper. Up to press time there was no further information from him.
Similarly, when reached, a school official said the school was prompted to reiterate its safety protocols.
“The police assured us that they investigated the matter, and it was amicably resolved. What we intend to do is send out a letter to our parents, just reminding them to be a bit more careful and vigilant and talk to their children, so that they would let them know when these things happen and we are planning, to get persons to come in and do basically stranger danger talks with the students. We do have plans to address the matter as a school community.”
The school official further confirmed that the man never entered the school’s compound. (MB)
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