Image: The iconic neon Coca-Cola sign in Kings Cross lit up for Mardi Gras. Photo: Sydney.com
An American content creator has uploaded multiple videos of women he filmed, without their consent, in Sydney via a camera lens on his sunglasses.
When Amy, whose name has been changed for safety reasons, was approached by a random man while she was walking her dog in Kings Cross, she had no idea that she was being filmed.
Talking to the ABC, Amy said that the man repeatedly asked her out on a date and became “quite forceful” when she declined or tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“Literally all he wanted to do was for me to take him out. I actually just gave him my number, just to get away from him, because there was no way he was letting me go without my number,” she said.
About a week after the interaction, she realised that the conversation had been secretly filmed when she was sent the video by multiple people.
Amy said the interaction “was absolutely, very uncomfortable but what followed next is just so soul-destroying”.
With some more research, Amy later found out that the man was an American content creator with over 1.3 million followers on Instagram.
She would also discover that he regularly posts his conversations with women in public, also without their consent.
Amy said what made the situation worse were the “horrific comments” from his followers.
“It’s all so violating and disgusting … I didn’t even realise that I was getting filmed.”
This wasn’t a one-time occurrence
Even after reporting the video for harassment, Amy said Instagram kept the video up and the influencer also didn’t respond to her messages requesting that the video be taken down.
Amy said that seeing the reports and other women online talking about their conversations with the same man while he was in Sydney influenced her to also speak up about her incident.
She decided to go to the Kings Cross Police Station but was allegedly told by the police that while they were aware of the man, there was nothing they could do.
NSW Police told the ABC they were aware of the incidents and following “an investigation into an alleged breach of the Listening Devices Act, there will be no further police action”.
The man has since left Australia.
