Attractions try to sort snoops vs. shutterbugs

Parks’ rules balance rights, child privacy

A Father’s Day outing to the Palm Beach Zoo came to a jarring halt for a family who noticed a man standing behind trash cans recording video of their little girl playing in the splash pad.

The man was not arrested and said he just wanted to capture a happy moment, but the zoo banned him from coming back, which its policy allows.

The episode highlights the clash between two competing interests: the photographer’s right to take pictures in a public place and parents’ desire to protect their children.

Family attractions in South Florida take a variety of approaches to the issue, and the

law depends on the setting.

It’s legal to record kids in publicly owned places, even at water-oriented venues where children may be naked or in swimsuits. But private venues like the zoo can regulate photography and ban people.

In the recent case, the man should have first asked for permission to take pictures, the zoo’s president, Andrew Aiken, said in a statement.

“Professional and amateur photographers understand that cameras can be extremely invasive,” Aiken said. “Safety and privacy concerns should always take precedence.”

Since 2015, the city of Hollywood has banned adults from playgrounds unless they’re with a child 12 or younger. The ordinance was based on a similar rule in Miami Beach.

“It will put a little dent into getting rid of the undesirables in the park,” Hollywood Commissioner Traci Callari said when the ordinance was enacted.

Monkey Joe’s, a children’s play area in Coral Springs, also requires adults to be accompanied by a child to enter. That works well, general manager Jose Villegas said.

Still, with cellphones and devices seemingly everywhere these days, the business still has encountered unwelcome moments. Villegas recalled seeing a parent watching lewd videos on a tablet a few years ago. “I said, ‘What are you doing, man?’ ” Villegas said. “We asked him to leave right when we saw that.”

Briann Harmes, assistant director of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, said the lack of a Florida law on recording children makes it difficult to crack down on suspicious activity at public parks. Some of the Boca parks have water features for children, but Harmes said she hasn’t heard of any problems so far.

Rangers and police patrol the parks, but child safety largely requires vigilance from parents and bystanders, she said.

“It is hard in public places because you are allowed to videotape,” Harmes said. “But if someone feels suspicious, they should contact police. We want to make sure people feel safe in our parks.”

Stuart Kaplan, a criminal law and civil rights lawyer based in Palm Beach Gardens, said personal rights outweigh any expectations of privacy in public.

“When we leave our homes, we lose that absolute right of privacy,” Kaplan said.

Child-porn suspects have been caught photographing kids in public play areas, including this year, authorities said.

In April, Broward sheriff deputies arrested Patrick Brogie at a splash pad in Pompano Beach as part of a child pornography investigation. Once apprehended, police found pictures of girls between ages 3 and 6 in bathing suits at the splash pad on his cellphone, according to the arrest report.

Brogie has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges, and his case is pending. His charges were unrelated to the pictures he took at the splash pad, authorities said.

“When things like that do happen, we can’t get out there on every splash pad where children are at,” said Broward Sheriff’s Sgt. Giuseppe Weller, a member of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. “Like anything else, you have to be vigilant.”

Pompano’s beachside splash pad is a popular attraction, said city spokeswoman Sandra King.

“At any given time, it’s filled with people, and unfortunately some come and prey on children,” King said. “But it’s not for cities to question individuals on their intent. That’s a law enforcement question.”

Cherie Benjoseph, cofounder of the child safety advocacy nonprofit KidSafe Foundation, said the incidents usually are hard to notice, let alone prosecute. Still, she urges parents to report suspicious activity when they see it.

“One of the issues about this type of crime is that it does happen probably more frequently than we will ever realize,” Benjoseph said. “We want to give people the benefit of the doubt. But when it comes to the safety of children, I’d rather err on the side of misunderstanding than not say anything.”