Pedophilia hysteria in Australia: Police investigate frolicking child

It wasn't the original plan for Emma and her grandfather Leo to head to Balmoral Beach, but the six-year-old "water baby" had set her heart on it.

"We hadn't packed her swimming costume but she was in one of her determined moods so I certainly wouldn't have dared say no," said 70-year-old Leo, who was helping Emma's busy parents last Tuesday.

When the pair arrived at lunchtime, Emma stripped off her clothes, including her T-shirt, despite Leo's suggestion she keep it on. She then happily splashed in the shallows for about half an hour while Leo kept a watchful eye a short distance away.

"She didn't stop beaming from the time she got in to the time she got out," he said.

But he was left shaken by what happened next. "I helped Emma get dressed and then the police arrived," he said. "They wanted my name, they took my identification. They also talked to Emma and asked her name and date of birth. They informed me a complaint had been lodged."

NSW Police confirmed an anonymous call was received from a member of the public expressing concern about an elderly man "sitting with a naked child at the beach".

While it took a matter of minutes for the officers to establish that a misunderstanding had occurred, the issue did not end there.

In the days since, a bewildered Leo has questioned his own role in the incident. "Should I have insisted she keep her top on?" he asked, adding: "Would they still have complained anyway?"

His questions don't stop there: "Would this have happened if I had been a female? Would it have occurred had I been a younger man?

"I would like to meet the person who made the call. I'd like to ask why they couldn't have at least approached me, so we could have avoided all this."

But the person most affected has been Emma herself. "When she got in the bath that night, she said: 'I did something wrong, I'm in trouble'," her mother Jessica said. "This was a child in her element. Who could have complained about that? If she was in distress, sure, people should maybe call the cops then. She was totally carefree.

"It's not long before she'll lose that and become more body conscious."

Chief executive of the Australian Childhood Foundation and registered psychologist Joe Tucci said raising community awareness about child abuse had inadvertently triggered "widespread anxiety" instead of "confidence".

"In the past, adults would turn a blind eye. These days, more people respond … but not necessarily in a helpful way. In this case, the execution is not what I would have recommended.

"Given it was so public, the person could have at least approached the grandfather for a few words. Yes, it might have ended up being a little embarrassing to both parties but at least it would have avoided that young girl's involvement and negative experience with police."

But Hetty Johnston, founder of child protection advocate Bravehearts, disagreed. "That member of the public did what, we hope, everyone now does in such situations.

"They held concerns so in the best interests of that child, they called police. It was not a malicious or vindictive move. It turned out to be a false alarm and that's great."

Detective Acting Superintendent Linda Howlett, the acting Sex Crimes Squad commander, agreed.

"It's better to be safe than sorry," she said. "If a member of the public does see something that causes them concern, we encourage them to contact police and we will follow that up."

But several days on, Jessica still cannot help but feel the situation was overblown. "It started several years ago with families not being able to take photos of their own children at swimming pools and now it seems to have progressed to scenarios like this," she said.

"As a society, I believe we have grown too paranoid. I feel so sorry for all the grandfathers who face this sort of scrutiny and persecution, simply for spending time with their grandkids."

Original report here




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