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After outcry from parents, Palm Beach Zoo bans man looking to 'record kid being happy'

Posted at 7:56 PM, Jun 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-20 19:56:51-04

The Palm Beach Zoo handed down a decision Tuesday after a parent's concern goes viral.

Management at the zoo made the move to ban a man seen taking pictures of a little girl.

"We have made the decision that he is no longer allowed to return to property," zoo spokesperson Naki Carter says. 

It all started after a Facebook post went viral.

The picture was taken by a Pompano Beach mom who saw a man standing behind garbage cans with his cell phone out recording her daughter.

NewsChannel 5 is not identifying the man, because police say he did not commit a crime.

Police also say he has no criminal history of lewd behavior.

The family confronted the man, and forced him to delete the videos from his phone.

Still, the outrage on social media was swift. 

Carter says it's all about making visitors at the zoo feel comfortable.

"If behavior is reported by a zoo guest, we do reserve the right to ask for you to leave the zoo," she says. "And we do reserve the right, based on individual incidents, to ask that you not return."

In addition to this move, the zoo will also have a meeting with some of those local mom groups who expressed concern over the picture.

Carter says it will be a conversation between those groups and management to make sure everyone is on the same page.

That meeting could happen as early as Thursday.