Incident in Oneonta Park raises concern among parents

Summer is slowly getting underway, kids are out of school, and parks and pools are filling up. A Blount County mom says this is a good time to talk to your kids about stranger dangers, especially after what happened to her daughter in a public park. Holly Pate’s 11-year-old daughter was with friends in Woodland Park last week. They had an adult with them, but an incident still occurred that Pate said left her daughter very disturbed. A man they did not know approached her and her friends. “He asked simple questions like, How often do you come here? I used to come here a lot. Do you come here all the time? Do you like this part? Do you like this town? (He) was touching her back while he was talking to her and kind of down her back and her thighs and stuff. And for an 11-year-old, that’s huge,” Pate said. Pate said the incident was captured on the park’s video cameras and police are investigating. But while the man upset her daughter, he didn’t commit a crime. So Pate posted the incident on social media to warn other parents, attaching the man’s picture. “When that picture came up, they thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s the guy from here, that’s the guy from the gym that was looking at us funny, that’s the guy that was on the city air,'” Pate said. Pate believes it’s only a matter of time before the man actually harms someone. She hopes this incident can serve as a warning to other parents and children to never let up. “Watch out for people. You know, there’s evil out there and bad people. Be a little more alert, especially if your gut tells you something’s not right. That person looks weird. Don’t let him near your kids. You can’t be too careful anymore,” said Pate. said Pate. The police reacted quickly and investigated thoroughly, and she understands that their hands are tied. That’s why it’s important that parents communicate with their children and with each other when something like this happens.