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[SiegfriedFM]

What a shithead.

I was walking to the store one evening when I found a child (around two years, I think) wandering around outside (near a bus stop) and crying, with no parents in sight. Since noone was turning up, I started ushering the kid towards the store so I could get someone to help. Luckily the parents turned up at that point (coming from the store), so I just explained what happened. No punching.

Yeah, hearing stories like this it makes you hesitate, but I still want to believe that the parents wouldn't have liked it if I had just shrugged and said "yeah, there's a kid back there somewhere, go look".

 

[Ponn]

I think what set this father off is the fact that it looked like the man was trying to leave with his child. I'm not justifying his extreme reaction, but I think everyone here should feel free to help lost children, but the important part to remember is to just stay in one spot with them. Don't try to take them anywhere. Just keep them from wandering off further and wait with them, until their parents (who will be looking for them) find you.

Child predators don't just stand in one spot with children. So, you're much less likely to be mistaken for one, if you just wait with them.

The problem is we are getting two stories there. The guy who found the kid said they were at the playground which would be near a playing field, that makes sense. The guy that assaulted him said he saw him carrying her to the parking lot. The police interviewed people around and were satisfied the guy wasn't trying to kidnap the kid so I'm tending to not believe anything the aggressive dad trying really hard to cover up his own fuck ups says. He doesn't seem to be a reliable source of truthiness.

 

[Maximus.]

Father is a piece of shit. Lose sight of your kid and then first response is to beat a person down and not take responsibility. On top of that falsely share false and damaging accusations online. Damn. This is why people are sometimes hesitant to do nice or the right thing.

 

[Omegasquash]

I'd never ignore a kid in distress , but it's definitely something you have to be aware of as a man.

Point it out to someone nearby. "Hey, is that your kid over there? She/he looks lost." "Should someone call the police to help?"

Easier and safer that way. Notify more people around you. In a better world you wouldn't be running the risk of being labeled a predator, but we are where we are.

 

[Servbot24]

By this logic, should I assume that your father is extremely judgmental?

Spreading false accusations of being a child predator across the internet

"don't judge me bro"

 

[Maintenance]

Yeah, I don't care if the child is crying and lost, I'm staying the hell away from it.

 

[Zackat]

If I saw a lost child, I ain't going to even approach.
I'd consider calling the police or if a woman is nearby, I'd ask her.
Don't want to get my head kicked in.

yep

 

[GrizzleBoy]

Maybe keep an eye on your fucking kid If she's so important to you, prick.

It's nobody's fault that she got lost except yours in the first place.

 

[Gin-Shiio]

Maybe don't lose sight of your kid in the first place? Everything the father says and did makes him look like a garbage person as others have pointed out.

 

[Poppy]

i like how the guy was already a bad father by losing his child but then decides to continue being a piece of shit by battering the guy that found her

gotta admire the consistency

 

[IamDodongo]

This is why you must always think before you act.

 

[Brinbe]

Douche

 

[Saganator]

Found the Lakeland PD facebook post and in the comments it looks like the family is still calling the good samaritan a predator. Dude should really sue for slander at least.

 

[King_Moc]

The father sounds like scum. He should be in jail for that.

If I saw a lost child, I ain't going to even approach.
I'd consider calling the police or if a woman is nearby, I'd ask her.
Don't want to get my head kicked in.

This is the world our media has made us live in, unfortunately.

 

[kamineko]

This is why you must always think before you act.

Hell, the dad can't even think after he acts

 

[Human Resources]

man i remember delivering pizzas as a teenager and noticing a toddler in diapers slowly crawling towards the street in front of a meth house with the door ajar

i guess i should have entered the house unannounced to ask random methheads if the child was theirs as the kid made its way into traffic, wouldn't want to be accused of any wrongdoing

 

[CREMSteve]

I'd gladly take a few shots and a hit to my reputation if it meant the little girl got home safely.

Parents should have been watching their kids.

 

[L Thammy]

Spreading false accusations of being a child predator across the internet

"don't judge me bro"

I think the "the man helping my child is a predator even if he's not a predator" is a worse kind of judgemental than the "don't drive people out of town for being nice" kind, anyway.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

A complete cunt. 'Parents' like this guy are the worst, they refuse to accept responsibility for their actions and would rather destroy someone's life than admit they were wrong.

Take the child away and ensure he can't have children again. The man isn't fit to be a parent and raise a child.

 

[SchrodingerC]

The father is not only a violent idiot, but a careless one to lose track of his daughter in the first place.

 

[Keri]

The problem is we are getting two stories there. The guy who found the kid said they were at the playground which would be near a playing field, that makes sense. The guy that assaulted him said he saw him carrying her to the parking lot. The police interviewed people around and were satisfied the guy wasn't trying to kidnap the kid so I'm tending to not believe anything the aggressive dad trying really hard to cover up his own fuck ups says. He doesn't seem to be a reliable source of truthiness.

I think in both stories, the man was walking around with the child, to ask for her parents. To be clear, I'm not saying he deserved to be attacked, because of this. He absolutely did not deserve to be attacked. But a lot of people in this thread are posting saying they'll never help lost children, for fear of this situation. I'm just saying that standing still and waiting for the parents to find you, while just keeping the child from running off, makes it a lot less likely there will be any confusion and you can possibly save a child from getting seriously injured.

 

[H.Cornerstone]

So first this dude manages to get separated from his very young child, and then he behaves like a Neanderthal. Kid must be proud.

This is insulting to Neanderthals.

 

[ronaldthump]

wow. yikes.

what a story. The poor man.

 

[Zaventem]

The fact that you now have to be afraid to help a lost child is sad.

I mean we're still far away from how the chinese takes these matters because of their shit laws.

 

[kswiston]

This is the world our media has made us live in, unfortunately.

The end point is what China is going through where people can get hit by cars and left to die as bystanders walk over them, because people are terrified of being sued by the victim for helping.

 

[RinsFury]

Found the Lakeland PD facebook post and in the comments it looks like the family is still calling the good samaritan a predator. Dude should really sue for slander at least.

Disgusting.

I hope the father has his life ruined. What a piece of shit.

 

[Kinyou]

The father and his friends were not satisfied with the man’s explanation or that of the police. “So, I guess in Lakeland, you can kidnap a child and get away with it,” the father said to police, local media reported

What a dumb piece of shit.

Punching someone in the heat of the moment (which is still dumb) is one thing, but this absolute refusal to believe that he was wrong? Holy crap.

The samaritan should really press charges

 

[ZeroCypher]

The father is being a shitty parent and shifts the blame to the good Samaritan. What a terrible person. I would have sued that father (which would affect the daughter, maybe for better or worse) but I don't understand why the guy isn't pressing charges.

The end point is what China is going through where people can get hit by cars and left to die as bystanders walk over them, because people are terrified of being sued by the victim for helping.

People and their reactions to situations like this are going to be the cause

 

[Google]

The good Samaritan told several local outlets that he has now left town with his family for their safety. He says he will not press charges against the father.

This doesn't really make sense to me.

1. How does one just 'leave town'. What about your job, relationships, home, etc?

2. Why would he not press charges against the father? He's publicly announced he's leaving because of it.

Something doesn't sit well with me.

 

[BriGuy]

I kinda sorta understand the initial punch, but the defamation of character after everything was explained, corroborated and cleared by the police is too much. That kind of shit can ruin lives.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

The father sounds like scum. He should be in jail for that.



This is the world our media has made us live in, unfortunately.

What makes it weird is that 'stranger danger' is actually relatively rare a children are much more like to be raped, abused or murdered by their parents or close family members.

It's a shame that isn't reported as much rather than scare people with an almost non existent stranger danger threat.

 

[Jotaka]

And people ask why people are cold and don't want to help. Assholes like this father can ruin your life. No, thank you.

 

[DopeToast]

The man who was punched should absolutely press charges, number one, and number two, if you're going to attack any good-natured person who helps your lost child, then keep a better eye on them in the first place. This story makes me sick.

 

[psynergylover]

what a complete ass! totally would've pressed charges.

 

[Cmagus]

I bet if he did nothing and something happened to the child he'd be crying asking why nobody did anything when they saw his daughter wandering around. That father sounds like a massive asshole and this is why nobody helps others.

 

[shadowkat]

He should have pressed charges, both for the assault and the slander. :

Yep.

 

[kswiston]

This doesn't really make sense to me.

1. How does one just 'leave town'. What about your job, relationships, home, etc?

2. Why would he not press charges against the father? He's publicly announced he's leaving because of it.

Something doesn't sit well with me.

Random people aren't going to vouch for child molesters, so what's left to sit well with you? People are on record saying that he was trying to find the girl's dad. He got beat up and accused of being a child predator online. He's shaken and took off for what is probably not forever.

 

[Llyranor]

This is why when I see a lone child, I talk loudly and try to implicate other nearby bystanders asap, and absolutely no physical contact.

 

[HammerOfThor]

As a father, if I saw any stranger with my child I'd be instantly suspicious.

That being said, unless someone was clearly trying to harm my kids I'd never punch them or even insult them.

This father is clearly on the shitty side for many reasons, but he's the one who lost track of his kid to begin with.

And fuck the family for slander. I hope they get sued into oblivion.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

This doesn't really make sense to me.

1. How does one just 'leave town'. What about your job, relationships, home, etc?

2. Why would he not press charges against the father? He's publicly announced he's leaving because of it.

Something doesn't sit well with me.

Maybe he works from home and he left with his family.

Maybe he'll press charges or maybe he doesn't see the point because he wants to past this and get on with his life?

 

[VariantX]

The good Samaritan told several local outlets that he has now left town with his family for their safety. He says he will not press charges against the father.

The father made no apologies for his actions but told The Post, ”All that matters is that my daughter is home safely."

This is why people don't help anymore. That Samaritan wasn't obviously the only one who saw that child alone. Just call the police or bring over an authority figure to deal with it.

The father is not only neglectful, but a neglectful asshole too.

 

[EdibleKnife]

I bet if he did nothing and something happened to the child he'd be crying asking why nobody did anything when they saw his daughter wandering around. That father sounds like a massive asshole and this is why nobody helps others.

Thought of this exact thing too.

 

[Skellig Gra]

I kinda sorta understand the initial punch, but the defamation of character after everything was explained, corroborated and cleared by the police is too much. That kind of shit can ruin lives.

Sounds like it already has

 

[levious]

This doesn't really make sense to me.

1. How does one just 'leave town'. What about your job, relationships, home, etc?

2. Why would he not press charges against the father? He's publicly announced he's leaving because of it.

Something doesn't sit well with me.

This is an odd question. Have you never moved?

 

[hammysaurusrex]

I feel sad for any child who has to grow up and discover their father is a psychopath.

 

[OriginofHysteria]

Has anyone found out what the man's business is? We should prop this guy up for helping out.

 

[Fuchsdh]

This is why I get nervous when strangers kids just come near me. It's so easy to ruin someones life with a baseless accusation.

What's worse is that some kids pick up on it. I remember in my grade, we had one girl who realized if she started yelling "don't touch me!" at adult men, they'd recoil like she hit them with telekinesis. Shockingly, no man ever volunteered to chaperone any field trip for our grade.

 

[slider]

I can understand not pressing charges for the punch(es!). But the fucking defamation of character, or whatever the term is, and the further self-righteous doubling down is something else entirely. Put the stupid motherfucker, and his dumb entourage, out of their misery.

 

[Google]

This is an odd question. Have you never moved?

Well, yeah. I've moved. But moving costs a good amount of money, there are leases/mortgages to figure out, it all takes time.

I'm not questioning someone moving.

I'm questioning why someone moves because of an altercation despite having the police and press behind them. Add to that the fact that they're not taking any legal recourse against the other party - it feels like something is missing.

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

Fuck the stupid fucking dad. What a horrible piece of shit person. CPS should take his child and give him a real reason to get upset.