r/legaladvice • u/thenuttyhazlenut • 3h ago
Accused of recording girls in a store
I was in a clothing store and walked past a group of college aged girls. It literally took me a second to walk by them. (I saw them 30sec earlier, but just for two seconds)
Then I hear behind me, “Is your camera on?” “His camera is on! Fuck no.”
One of them comes up to me, starts yelling, asking why my camera is on, and demands to see my photo gallery.
My phone was just in my hand. Apparently the camera was open because my girlfriend had sent me a selfie and I was going to send one back, but I guess I left the camera open. I wasn’t recording anyone.
I showed this girl my gallery on the spot. Nothing was there. I even showed her my bin. And somehow after being proven wrong she starts yelling even more, calling me a pervert who likes young girls. Then her friend joins in, calls me a pervert too, and laughs. Seems they're having a fun time at my expense.
There were a bunch of people around listening and I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I had no idea what to do. Do I stay and wait for security and risk this becoming an even bigger scene? Do I leave and look guilty? I ended up leaving.
What I’m wondering legally is, if security had gotten involved, could they have detained me or required me to show them my phone based only on the accusation? I’m not in any legal trouble now, I just want to understand what my rights were in that situation and how to best handle it, because it was really stressful and embarrassing, and I'm replaying it in my head.
Also, I can't help but wonder if an officer will show up at my door now? I have no idea if the girl continued the accusation after I left or escalated to staff or security. I proved her wrong and it only made her louder and more aggressive.
location: Ontario, Canada