Just how big of a problem are peepers in the parks? To find out, Inside Edition came to Manhattan's Washington Square Park. Sure enough, it didn't take long for those peepers to pull out their cameras.
As you enjoy the final days of warm weather, be aware — there are creepy guys out there secretly taking photos of women.
Videos of young women confronting peepers on camera are going viral on social media. One video shows an outraged woman confronting a guy who she thought had been photographing her without her knowledge.
“Let's see it. Delete them all right now,” she said. “I would like to see you delete my pictures that you took of me and to delete all these other women's pictures that you're taking.”
So just how big of a problem are peepers in the parks? To find out, Inside Edition came to Manhattan's iconic Washington Square Park. Sure enough, it didn't take long for those peepers to pull out their cameras.
Sydney Jenkins says it happens to her all the time — as we found out when she caught some rays at the park. Almost immediately, a man took out his cellphone and started snapping away.
But what the peepers didn’t know is that Inside Edition had a team of producers scattered throughout the park, ready to catch them in the act.
Investigative producer Josh Bernstein stood right over one man’s shoulder, with a perfect view of his phone.
“Excuse me, sir. Why were you taking pictures of that girl without her knowing?” Bernstein asked him.
“Uh, I don't know,” the man responded.
“Do you think that’s appropriate?” Bernstein asked.
“Uh, no,” he said.
When asked to show him the pictures and delete them, the man said, “Sure,” and we watched him delete them.
Moments later, Inside Edition watched another man with a high-speed camera and a telephoto lens taking pictures of women throughout the park, including Jenkins.
A parkgoer says he witnessed it all unfold.
“There was a guy taking a picture of someone behind me with a big camera lens, and I turned around to see what he was taking a picture of and it happened to be this lovely young woman here and I thought it was absolutely disgusting,” the witness said.
Before he could walk away, Jenkins tried to speak to the guy.
“I don't even want you to apologize. I just want you to delete the pictures,” Jenkins said.
When questioned if it was appropriate, the photographer said, “I’m taking pictures of everybody.”
“They go from pulling out their phones to pulling out their cameras — expensive, high-end — and you don’t know why and you don't feel safe,” Jenkins said.
Although it may be creepy to secretly photograph people in public, it is not illegal.
