Parents reported the man taping the game and focusing on one girl. The West athletic director confronted the man and police were later called in. The man says he tapes lots of girls basketball games.
He allowed officials to look at his tape. There were various scenes, some from the basketball game and others showed him masturbating and involved what appeared to be game crowd noises in the background. Our full story is here. The man seemed to be videotaping one girl.
Police looked at the tape and determined he did not commit a crime. The school has banned him from all schools and may notify other schools.
The police report contained his name, but The Free Press did not publish it because the main did not commit a crime and does not have a criminal record.
However, I wonder if our readers feel they have a need to know this man's name. (Could he live in their neighborhood?).
The ethical dilemma here is: The public's right to know vs. a man's right to not be falsely accused of a crime.
Connected to this whole issue is: What responsibility does a news organization have to reveal the name of individuals involved in this type of behavior if they are not charged with a crime?
Here's the full story:
MANKATO — A man with two video cameras who was questioned by a police officer during a West High School girls basketball game last week has been banned from all of Mankato’s schools.
Police were called to West at 8:45 p.m. Feb. 17 after two other men noticed the 58-year-old Waseca County man was filming a West player.
When that player was on the court, the man — whose name is not being published because he hasn’t been charged with a crime and has no criminal record — would film her. When the player was on the bench, the man would put his camera down, according to Mankato officer Dale Stoltman’s report.
Another man who noticed what was going on and the father of the player confronted the man with the camera during the second half of the game. They told Stoltman the man with the camera became nervous and couldn’t explain why he was at the game or why he was recording one of the players.
West activities director Ken Essay had brought the man and his cameras to Essay’s office. The man was there when Stoltman arrived.
He told Stoltman he had bought a new camera and wanted to compare it to his old one. He also said he does a lot of recording of girls basketball games. Before Stoltman arrived, he told Essay he had been at a Lake Crystal game earlier that night. The man eventually said he travels often and regularly films girls sporting events.
Stoltman eventually left Essay’s office to talk to the two other men. While he was gone, the Waseca County man apparently gave Essay permission to watch a recording on one of the video cameras. Stoltman described the video as “rather disturbing.”
“The video was of (the man) sitting in an office-style chair masturbating,” Stoltman’s report said.
“He was also yelling out individual girl(s) names and appeared to be watching a video of something, possibly basketball as it sounded like cheering in the background. I only watched for a moment before I told Ken to shut it down.”
Essay told Stoltman there were numerous videos of high school girls basketball games on the camera, including videos from the game in Lake Crystal.
As Stoltman’s questioning continued, the man repeatedly said he didn’t see any problem with what he had recorded. He also said he travels all over the world, and was planning trips to China and Alaska.
“(The man) focused most of his ‘story telling’ on his travels and love for filming rather than why we (school and law enforcement) had concerns of his unusual behavior.”
Stoltman’s report said he and Essay encouraged the man to seek psychological help. The incident was reviewed by an investigator who determined the man hadn’t committed a crime.
The man allowed Essay to keep his cameras. Essay told the officer he planned to notify state school officials about the incident and was considering sending out an alert to other schools. The man was told he would be charged with trespassing if he was caught on Mankato school property again.
A notice that was sent out to parents of Mankato students Thursday told them about the incident. It also encouraged parents to report suspicious activity to school authorities.
“We are committed to keeping our students and school community safe,” the notice said. “We ask for your continued partnership in reporting suspicious behavior as was done in this case.”
Police were called to West at 8:45 p.m. Feb. 17 after two other men noticed the 58-year-old Waseca County man was filming a West player.
When that player was on the court, the man — whose name is not being published because he hasn’t been charged with a crime and has no criminal record — would film her. When the player was on the bench, the man would put his camera down, according to Mankato officer Dale Stoltman’s report.
Another man who noticed what was going on and the father of the player confronted the man with the camera during the second half of the game. They told Stoltman the man with the camera became nervous and couldn’t explain why he was at the game or why he was recording one of the players.
West activities director Ken Essay had brought the man and his cameras to Essay’s office. The man was there when Stoltman arrived.
He told Stoltman he had bought a new camera and wanted to compare it to his old one. He also said he does a lot of recording of girls basketball games. Before Stoltman arrived, he told Essay he had been at a Lake Crystal game earlier that night. The man eventually said he travels often and regularly films girls sporting events.
Stoltman eventually left Essay’s office to talk to the two other men. While he was gone, the Waseca County man apparently gave Essay permission to watch a recording on one of the video cameras. Stoltman described the video as “rather disturbing.”
“The video was of (the man) sitting in an office-style chair masturbating,” Stoltman’s report said.
“He was also yelling out individual girl(s) names and appeared to be watching a video of something, possibly basketball as it sounded like cheering in the background. I only watched for a moment before I told Ken to shut it down.”
Essay told Stoltman there were numerous videos of high school girls basketball games on the camera, including videos from the game in Lake Crystal.
As Stoltman’s questioning continued, the man repeatedly said he didn’t see any problem with what he had recorded. He also said he travels all over the world, and was planning trips to China and Alaska.
“(The man) focused most of his ‘story telling’ on his travels and love for filming rather than why we (school and law enforcement) had concerns of his unusual behavior.”
Stoltman’s report said he and Essay encouraged the man to seek psychological help. The incident was reviewed by an investigator who determined the man hadn’t committed a crime.
The man allowed Essay to keep his cameras. Essay told the officer he planned to notify state school officials about the incident and was considering sending out an alert to other schools. The man was told he would be charged with trespassing if he was caught on Mankato school property again.
A notice that was sent out to parents of Mankato students Thursday told them about the incident. It also encouraged parents to report suspicious activity to school authorities.
“We are committed to keeping our students and school community safe,” the notice said. “We ask for your continued partnership in reporting suspicious behavior as was done in this case.”
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