POWAY, Calif. (KGTV) - Parents and girls with the Poway Girls Softball League say they've seen several strange men -- on several occasions -- leering, taking photos and even trying to follow girls into the bathroom where they practice at Aubrey Park.
The girls are all 12 years old and younger.
"I was at the park one night, and we saw a tree, and we were like, 'Oh, it's just a tree. Then we saw it move," an 11-year-old player told 10News.
Jeremy Knight, a father of twin girls who plays in the league, said, "There was a gentleman under one of the trees over there, just kind of standing there, there's a picture of him. You can see him with his phone out, and he was taking pictures of girls at the park."
Last Friday, two men were sitting on a bench and called out to the girls as they ran past them on a trail.
"So we all ran faster and got away," the 11-year-old player said.
A coach who has identified himself on as Ben said the situation was "very uncomfortable because we were all over here at the batting cages ? they ran all the way around there and got to us, Jeremy went over there and was chasing one of the guys."
Ben is the father of the 11-year-old girl who the men called out to.
"I started asking them, 'Were you guys taking pictures and talking to them?' And they were like, 'No, no,' totally denying it," Knight said.
Another parent said one, or two men, tried to follow a girl into the bathroom.
Knight said they are now locking the bathrooms and walking with the children.
He told 10News they reported the incidents to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, but they want to want other families to be vigilant.
"Just keep an eye on your children," Knight said.
