WALLINGFORD (WFSB) – A local Family told Channel 3 they were traumatized after they said a stranger was spotted taking pictures of their toddler.
The Chili’s in Wallingford is always packed on the weekends, but the truth is nothing compares to what happened here on Thursday night.
“I jumped into action ran out front as fast as I could,” managing partner Brian Faille said Friday night.
A family had told Brian another customer did something that made them feel uneasy.
“They told me there was a gentleman who had taken a Photo of their child,” Faille said. “They felt pretty uncomfortable about it.”
Other witnesses said they saw the same thing. A man in his seventies had been snapping pictures of a two-year-old boy he did not know inside the restaurant.
Brian approached the man and asked him what he was doing, but his answers didn’t add up.
“He had a couple of different stories about what was going on, so we couldn’t really tell exactly what his intentions were,” Faille said.
The man apologized but the boy’s family was still on edge so Brian called the police, he said.
“They asked to search him they looked through his phone there was no photos anymore he had deleted them at the request of the parents who told them to do that,” Faille said.
Investigators say the man appeared to be intoxicated and told police he had only taken photos of the boy because he was amazed to see a two-year-old using an iPhone.
The man was not charged with a crime, but Brian immediately told him he had to leave and is banned going forward.
“I told him, you’re not welcome here you need to leave the property and never come back.”
” It’s a little uncomfortable especially since it is a minor,” customer Larissa Garde said Friday. “What do you need to use a minor for? Especially with today’s day and age with the way social media plays a part in anything.”
The child’s family spread the word about what happened on Facebook so other parents can be on alert but didn’t want to appear on camera.
They credit Brian and police for resolving the situation.
Chili’s regulars like Larissa Garde just hope the man who took the photos learned his lesson.
We are not identifying the man who admits he took those photos because again at this point he does not face any criminal charges.
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