MIAMI – A man was asked not to return to Zoo Miami after he was caught by a parent taking photos of young girls, Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said.
Details of the incident were posted to Facebook by a woman who said her friend Tatiana caught the man, identified by police as Eduard Glezin, 42, taking photos of her infant daughter and other young girls who were wearing bathing suits.
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Local 10 News spoke with Tatiana, who said that she was in the splash zone with her sister and mother when her mother noticed Glezin taking photos of her granddaughter.
Tatiana said she immediately confronted the man and he "shrugged me off" and pretended that he couldn't speak English.
Tatiana said she told an employee to call security and said she and another mother whose daughter was photographed by Glezin cornered him and demanded that he show them his camera and delete the photos.
According to Tatiana, a security guard eventually arrived and asked the man why he was photographing the girls to which he replied, because they are "beautiful."
"I told the security guard, 'A second ago he spoke no English, but now he can answer your questions,'" Tatiana said.
Both mothers and Glezin were brought to a security office where they were met by police, Tatiana said.
The concerned mother said she was told by the officer that unfortunately it's not illegal to photograph children in public places, but the officer told both mothers that he made sure the photos were deleted from the man's camera.
According to an incident report, Glezin told officers that he didn't mean any harm by taking the photographs and handed over his camera so officers could ensure that the photos were deleted.
Magill said the man was asked not to return to the zoo.
According to Magill, Zoo Miami’s security team is now looking into installing a surveillance system in the area where the man was taking pictures.