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Picture taking registered sex offender not breaking the law, according to police

Augusta PD

AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Officials are telling Augusta area residents a registered sex offender taking and posting pictures of minors, is not breaking any law.

Augusta police say they have received many complaints about the last two days saying a registered sex offender was taking pictures of young girls and posting those pictures to several social media sites.

In a post on Instagram, Augusta police said, 'we have looked into each complaint so far and have not found any violation of law to this point. The reason there is no violation is primarily that The Constitution of the United States protects photographing people, places, and things in a public place even if it is a child or young adult by a registered sex offender. This would only be a violation if a sex offender is on probation and has restrictions prohibiting this type of behavior. In this case, there is not probation in place.'

The release went on to say, 'With that said we are looking at every complaint and image to make sure there is no crime that has been committed as we would take enforcement action if something is discovered. In this case, we have had hundreds of people reach out to us because of this situation and the person involved being on the sex offender registry. This shows us that the registry works because the community aware and keeping an eye out for one another. We encourage people to contact us in any situation where they feel someone is not behaving appropriately so we can evaluate the situation and take enforcement action if warranted or educate the public as to why we cannot take enforcement action. We understand this is a very delicate and difficult situation and we thank you for your patience and understanding.'

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