CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A Chesterfield mother has a warning for other area parents after she said a man drove up and snapped a photo as two girls were walking home from their bus stop.
"This is the first time I've seen it in this neighborhood,” Karen Kirby told CBS 6 reporter Sandra Jones.
Kirby said she happened to be watching Thursday afternoon that to make sure her daughter stayed out of the road when it happened.
Kirby saw the 10-year-old girl and her friend walking from their bus stop in her Swift Creek Crossing subdivision when a mystery man stopped his car.
"That's when I saw him reach...hold the camera up to the window and just snap a picture. And I thought that was weird,” Kirby explained.
Kirby said the little girl did not know the guy.
"She was concerned because she turned to the other little girl and said, 'He took a picture of me,'” Kirby said.
Kirby told the child to go home and tell her parents while she kept on eye on the driver.
"He went to the end of the road and then he turned around and came back,” Kirby said. "And that's when I watched his car trying to get a color and description and license plate."
The girl's family reported what happened to Chesterfield police, who are investigating the incident. However, it is not illegal to take a child's picture on a public street.
Still, police urge parents to report any suspicious activity.
"That way if it is something more then that way we can work on it and we were there when it happened,” Matt Rogers, a master police officer with Chesterfield police.
Rogers suggests kids walking home from the bus stop always stay in a group and do not walk alone. The children should also be aware of their surroundings.
But CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone said this situation could escalate into a crime if the person does it more than once.
"If you do it on more than one occasion, and you do it in a manner that would reasonably put someone in fear of a criminal, sexual assault. And so, that would make it a stalking charge,” CBS 6 legal expert Todd Stone said.
Stalking is a class one misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine and up to a year behind bars.
Kirby said glad she was walking her dog at that moment.
"I watch the news and I hear about missing children, and I just want to make sure the little girl was safe,” Kirby said.
