just fyi... (esp. for those of you with kids/babies who aren't on the
totlot list). there is an ongoing discussion about this currently on
that list. L
Begin forwarded message:
From: Melissa
Date: August 20, 2014 3:07:19 PM EDT
To: [email protected]
Subject: [TotLot] Re: Incident today in the park
Hello Tot Lot families,
I wanted to alert everyone about an incident that took place exactly
a week ago on the tot lot involving what I believe to be the same
man described in this older thread discussion. I noticed this man
approaching the tot lot and taking a seat on a nearby bench. It was
just me and my two young sons (one is preschool aged and the other
is a baby) on the tot lot. When I placed them in the swings to push
them, he moved from the bench he was sitting on to a bench directly
in front of us. Then he proceeded to watch me and my children. I
was relieved when other families began to play on the tot lot and
was doubly relieved when I ran into a friend and her children. At
some point, the tot lot got really crowded. I looked up and saw the
man on the actual tot lot, right by the dinosaur slides. I was
shocked, since he never has actually stepped foot on the tot lot
whenever I noticed him in the past. I was wondering why he was on
the tot lot and looked around to see what was happening. That's
when I saw him glancing down at a baby who was getting a diaper
change. He quickly darted off the tot lot and hid behind a tree.
In a previous incident on the Tot Lot years ago, when I told my then
infant son, "Ok, let's change your diaper," the same man walked over
closer to where we were sitting. I quickly decided not to change
his diaper there and to do it at home.
I have noticed this man many times before, since my gut always told
me that there was something very odd about him. To tell you the
truth, I always sensed perversion from him, since he's always
watching the children and will re-position himself to get closer to
children.
Here's a description of the man:
An African-American male
Some facial hair - not too thick
20s-30s in age?
Average to slender build and average height
Wire-rimmed glasses
I always see him carrying a disposeable coffee cup
I always see him wearing sneakers and jeans with a dark t-shirt/top
He slouches and is always alone
Please be aware of this man and watch your children closely around
him. I will definitely call the police the next time I see him.
Also, does anyone know who I can contact about this incidence in the
meanwhile? Is there a local detective or police officer who deals
with this sort of thing? Thanks in advance.
-Melissa
On Monday, February 13, 2012 8:49:11 PM UTC-5, Caroline wrote:
Hi Tot Lot,
I wanted to let you all know about an incident today in the park,
around 2 pm. I was in the tot lot section of the park with my son,
and there were several people around so I felt pretty safe (I
usually try to avoid the park when it's totally empty in the
winter). A man was walking through the park, and I noticed that he
was staring at us. I just didn't have a good feeling about the way
he was carrying himself. He continued walking up the path towards
the corner of 43rd and Chester, so I thought everything was ok.
We rambled over to the other part of the park (with the bigger kid
playground) and I noticed no one else was around anymore. My son
was having a great time, so I thought we should just stay a bit more
and more people would probably come before long. I noticed that same
man walking back into the park, from a distance, but he seemed to be
looking at us. I thought, I am not going to risk anything, since
we are all alone in the park. My son was all the way at the top of
the playground, so I climbed up pretty quickly, grabbed him, and
looked down and noticed the man was already near us and had entered
the big kid playground. So, I screamed at the top of my lungs and
ran as fast as I could (scared my son, unfortunately).
The man was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans, looked like
he was probably around 35, but didn't look mentally ill or like a
crackhead necessarily.
I am not sure what he was trying to do ( I don't think from the
circumstances that he was just trying to ask me the time or
something), but I would rather not have found out. I am honestly
pretty freaked out by this.
Just be careful when you are in the park and if something makes you
think twice, don't ignore your instinct. I probably should have
left the first time I saw him. I might have looked like a fool
running and screaming, but at least nothing happened!
