- Apr 14, 2001
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Father-of-three branded a 'pervert' - for photographing his own children in public park
Pics at link at the bottom of this story
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:09 PM on 15th July 2008
Family man Gary Crutchley only wanted to take a picture of his children enjoying a day out.
But his innocent snaps of his sons on a slide ended with him being branded on the spot as a 'pervert'.
The woman running the inflatable slide attempted to stop Mr Crutchley from taking pictures of his two youngest children Cory, aged seven, and Miles, five.
And when he pleaded his innocence, other families waiting in the queue also demanded he stop taking pictures.
Mr Crutchley - who had only photographed his own children - was so enraged that he fetched two policemen to confirm he had done nothing wrong.
He said today: 'What is the world coming to when anybody seen with a camera is assumed to be doing things that they should not? 'This parental paranoia is getting completely out of hand. I was so shocked.
'One of the police officers told me that it was just the way society is these days. He agreed with me that it was madness.'
The 39-year-old rubber consultant and father-of-three from Reedswood, Walsall, was with wife Tracey at the Wolverhampton Show when their sons asked to go on an inflatable slide.
He said: 'I started taking photographs of them having a good time. Moments later the woman running the slide told me to stop.
'She told me I could not take pictures of other people's children. I explained that I was only interested in taking photographs of my own children and pointed out that this was taking place in a public park.
'I then showed her the photos I had taken to prove my point.
'Then another woman joined in and said her child was also on the slide and did not want me taking pictures of the youngster. I repeated that the only people being photographed were my own children.
'She then said I could be taking pictures of just any child to put on the internet and called me a pervert.
'The incident took the gloss off the day and left a nasty taste in the mouth.'
He added: 'The two police officers confirmed that I had been perfectly within my rights to take photographs of my own children in the park.'
Mrs Crutchley, 37, a teaching support assistant and qualified nursery nurse said: 'I was annoyed, extremely upset and embarrassed.
'It is very sad when every man with a camera enjoying a Sunday afternoon out in the park with his children is automatically assumed to be a pervert.
'What makes it even more ridiculous is that both my husband and I had police checks last year because I was working as a child minder from our home for a period of time.'
Wolverhampton councillor Malcolm Gwinnett, whose daughter Tracey was running the ride, said: 'Our policy is to ask people taking photographs whether they have children on the slide. If they do, then that is fine. But on this occasion another customer took exception to what the man was doing and an argument developed between those two people that continued without any further involvement from staff on the slide.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...ldren-public-park.html
Pics at link at the bottom of this story
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:09 PM on 15th July 2008
Family man Gary Crutchley only wanted to take a picture of his children enjoying a day out.
But his innocent snaps of his sons on a slide ended with him being branded on the spot as a 'pervert'.
The woman running the inflatable slide attempted to stop Mr Crutchley from taking pictures of his two youngest children Cory, aged seven, and Miles, five.
And when he pleaded his innocence, other families waiting in the queue also demanded he stop taking pictures.
Mr Crutchley - who had only photographed his own children - was so enraged that he fetched two policemen to confirm he had done nothing wrong.
He said today: 'What is the world coming to when anybody seen with a camera is assumed to be doing things that they should not? 'This parental paranoia is getting completely out of hand. I was so shocked.
'One of the police officers told me that it was just the way society is these days. He agreed with me that it was madness.'
The 39-year-old rubber consultant and father-of-three from Reedswood, Walsall, was with wife Tracey at the Wolverhampton Show when their sons asked to go on an inflatable slide.
He said: 'I started taking photographs of them having a good time. Moments later the woman running the slide told me to stop.
'She told me I could not take pictures of other people's children. I explained that I was only interested in taking photographs of my own children and pointed out that this was taking place in a public park.
'I then showed her the photos I had taken to prove my point.
'Then another woman joined in and said her child was also on the slide and did not want me taking pictures of the youngster. I repeated that the only people being photographed were my own children.
'She then said I could be taking pictures of just any child to put on the internet and called me a pervert.
'The incident took the gloss off the day and left a nasty taste in the mouth.'
He added: 'The two police officers confirmed that I had been perfectly within my rights to take photographs of my own children in the park.'
Mrs Crutchley, 37, a teaching support assistant and qualified nursery nurse said: 'I was annoyed, extremely upset and embarrassed.
'It is very sad when every man with a camera enjoying a Sunday afternoon out in the park with his children is automatically assumed to be a pervert.
'What makes it even more ridiculous is that both my husband and I had police checks last year because I was working as a child minder from our home for a period of time.'
Wolverhampton councillor Malcolm Gwinnett, whose daughter Tracey was running the ride, said: 'Our policy is to ask people taking photographs whether they have children on the slide. If they do, then that is fine. But on this occasion another customer took exception to what the man was doing and an argument developed between those two people that continued without any further involvement from staff on the slide.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...ldren-public-park.html
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