‘It can be dangerous’: police warn of social media posts after photos falsely ID man as child predator

Viral post prompts Saskatoon police warning A viral post on Facebook, alleging a man attempted to abduct a child, has prompted a response from Saskatoon police.

Saskatoon police are warning the public about social media posts after a man’s photo began circulating online identifying him as an attempted child abductor.

The man didn’t want to be identified because he’s afraid for his safety, but he told CTV News he’s been wrongfully accused and is “stressed out” and worried about his reputation. He is asking people to take down the posts and photos.

Saskatoon police spokesperson Alyson Edwards told CTV News there is no evidence the man has been involved in any sort of suspicious or criminal activity.

“We don’t have any information that would indicate the gentleman pictured in some of the social media posts is actually involved in anything,” she said.

“I would caution people to be very careful. It can be dangerous to post information that may reveal someone's identity when that person may not be involved in anything at all.”

The photos started making rounds on social media after a woman posted a video to Facebook of what she said is an attempted child abduction. The man’s photo was posted in the comment section and then shared on social media as the man in the video.

The video has been viewed more than 100,000 times and shows a vehicle’s licence plate and a man — the top half of his face not visible — in the vehicle. The woman wrote she took the video Sunday night on Avenue O and 20th Street West.

She posted she was sitting in her living room when she heard a girl screaming and crying for help. When she went outside, she saw a man dragging an Indigenous girl into his car, according to the post. She wrote the girl said, “he’s trying to rape me!!!(sic)” She then approached the man and confronted him while others helped the girl to safety, she wrote.

Police say they spoke with the woman and the man in the car and found that, based on evidence at this point, it's unlikely an attempted child abduction took place and that there is no threat to public safety at this point.

“Sometimes when somebody sees something happening it does not always turn out to be exactly what they think it is,” Edwards said.

The woman did not respond to interview requests with CTV News.

The photo in the comment section of the video was first posted to social media and began circulating earlier this month with a post claiming the man in the picture and his wife were taking photos of kids at a children's event.

Police say they have not received any information about someone taking photos at the event.

The photo was posted in the comments of the video and the woman who posted the video said the man in the photo looked like the same person she confronted.

Several photos of the man, some with his wife, were shared by various people on social media saying he is a pedophile and that he tried to abduct a child.

Police say there is no evidence the man or his wife have been involved in any suspicious or criminal activity and that the vehicle and licence plate shown in the video are not linked to the man in the photo in any way.

“I would caution people to be very careful it can be dangerous to post information that may reveal someone's identity when that person may not be involved in anything at all,” Edwards said.

Edwards said the police encourage the public to be aware of their surroundings and report suspicious activity. She said she “strongly’ cautions people not to circulate photos of others on social media alleging they committed a crime.

“If people are witnessing something that they believe to be suspicious, if they think that something is happening that police should be looking into, then contact us please and send those photos to us, that’s fine,” Edwards said. “But don’t post them on social media.”

Police are still investigating the complaint of the alleged attempted child abduction and are looking to speak with the girl the woman reported seeing, the girl’s family and anyone else who may have witnessed the incident.