Neighbour has set up a camera

[Friday]

Just as a reminder @Ragdoll Circus, as a premium member & the thread's OP, you can threadban members who are derailing the conversation, just as staff can.

 

[Sideways]

@EveHarrington - yeah. I live upstairs from the guy - that's more than enough to deal with, without coming here and having to be all level headed for everyone about "Yes, yes, he must be awfully victimised".

I'm actually not concerned about his safety and well-being. I'm concerned about mine!

 

[Sideways]

Thanks @Friday !

For my own piece of mind, I will threadban any further posters who use this thread to defend him. Or to defend convicted pedophiles. Take that shite somewhere else!

 

[Miss_Basilisk]

Where is this information about your neighbor being a pedophile coming from? Is he a pedophile, or i...

Lmao what? Are you basically saying that being a convicted pedophile or even a non-offending pedophile is the same as being attracted to femininity? How is you being a gynephile even relevant at all to this topic? Pedophilia isn't some form of harmless attraction. Please stop trying to defend pedophiles on a website that is full of people who were traumatised at the hands of pedophiles. Thanks.

@Ragdoll Circus
I'm incredibly sorry that this is happening, it must not be easy at all. But kudos to you for putting up the privacy blinds in your house and for putting up a sign so others know! Its so annoying that he's not technically doing anything illegal but honestly, I 100% support you if you decide to let your neighbours know. If you don't decide to do that, hopefully now that others can see the sign you put up. they'll complain about him too. I hope everything works out and that you're okay :hug:

 

[Sideways]

@Miss_Basilisk - what a breath of fresh air that post was! Thank you!

He comes up fairly regularly in therapy because he's one of those neighbours that always seems to find a way to make life a little bit more uncomfortable. They have suggested I move, because they're concerned about him being (a fairly obvious) trigger, which isn't something you want to have to walk past every time you go in and out of your apartment.

Moving would be incredibly expensive. There are 2 other women in the complex that have asked to be transferred to a different building because he seems to just enjoy harassing the female tenants.

Tbh, I'm not always sure if trying to just manage the situation is me picking a healthy, well-adjusted way forward, or whether in fact he's more of a trigger than I give him credit for. My abuser was also an older, grey-haired man, and I have done battle with stockholm syndrome. So, it could be that what I'm actually doing, by trying to stay on reasonably civil terms with him, is really unhealthy for me. Certainly my T would prefer me to be more proactive about "This is something you shouldn't be living with" and transfer to a different building.

Idk. I try not to (consciously) have it in my mind when I have to pass him about who he is and what he's done. The thing with the camera is it makes it that much harder to push it to the back of my mind. There's definitely times when my dog wants to go downstairs to do his business when I just want to curl into a ball, and I think "Please no, I don't wanna have to deal with 'him' right now..."

Bleh! What would a self-confident non-trauma person do!?

 

[LuckiLee]

In answer to your question @Ragdoll Circus.

I would let everyone know he is a convicted pedophile with a camera set up. Maybe go to a sex offender website and print off the list of registered sex offenders in the area and put it in their mailbox's. Although, this may trigger you too. Have a friend do the research if you have to.

Not sure if it's legal but oh well. If it's on the internet where everyone has access to it you might as well let your neighbors know especially if they have children.

Keep us updated.

 

[Justplainnutz]

My apology for not knowing the complete story. But I will say I was not supporting him in anyway. I was raped at knife point when I was a very young boy.

This man (loosely use that term) should be in a cell.

My post was just pointing out judgments.

Nuff Said

 

[anthony]

He has now set up a dash cam in his car which is recording everyone (me included) when we come and go from the stairwell.

Here's the thing, actually that is against your body corporate, and that is how you get him.

You said you live in an apartment. All apartment blocks have a body corporate, hence him complaining about you putting up a blind.

The carpark, all common areas, are actually considered private property under OC legislation. They are not public areas, but private, common areas. OC's have rules about conduct and such, what you can and can't do. One thing you can't do by law, is record someone upon their private property without consent.

An OC, for example, can send a notice that they're installing security cameras into common areas. If the majority do not object, it happens. Those cameras and its footage are private to the building manager / security firm monitoring them. They point down, not up or across so any skirts or such can be looked up.

#1 - If he has a dash cam recording 24/7, on common property (private property), then he is breaking privacy laws. He can film inside his apartment, being his private area, but he cannot film on common ground with 24/7 monitoring without OC approval and tenant notification.

You can get him through your OC / management firm, you can get him through your VCAT (state alternative) process. You may even be able to get some help from consumer affairs, as they are the consumer go to for body corporate / tenanted living.

If a camera is pointed at stairs, and can film under a females skirt or such, then it breaks state privacy laws and is a police matter. If it points down, your OC can stop that with breach notices to evict and your state VCAT alternative.

You can't legally setup your own camera monitoring on an apartment buildings common property. Not allowed, as it breaches residents privacy and is not private to building management / security means only.

 

[Sideways]

@anthony - I hadn't considered the QCAT option. I'll check if I have standing as a complainant and follow that up. It would probably end up at a mediation and I'm not sure if he'd take it that far without taking the camera down.

The difficulty is that it's community housing, so the whole complex is owned by Dept of Housing, and managed by an NGO. The manager is essentially the body corp manager, but their attitude is that unless there's a police report, they won't intervene.

I could have a go at drafting a complaint to the Dept about the way manager is looking after the tenants, because the threshhold for complaints under the tenancy legislation is just anti-social behaviour, not anti-social behaviour warranting police intervention. So I could try a complaint to the Dept that the manager isn't fulfilling their obligations to tenants...I'm not sure that would be a particularly strong argument but it's gotta be worth a try. If I let the manager know that I intend to make a complaint to the Dept if they don't intervene, that may be enough to get them to pressure him to remove the camera.

Urgh. Yuck.

 

[Deleted member 541]

@Ragdoll Circus I say that you need to do what you need to do in order to feel safe and most importantly standing up for yourself. It’s an important part of your recovery to do so..... What have you got to lose? And what will you gain if you win???

 

[anthony]

Have you spoke to consumer affairs about Gov apartments and whether they still have ruling over them? A phone call from them can do wonders to a lazy manager to get motivated about privacy. QCAT don't care about mediation, they rule, just like a court, except for people to do directly. You don't need to know the law, they will assist you with that. Talk with them... Gov apartments or not, you can't breach privacy like that on common areas.

Even commercial buildings run into these issues with cameras. They must point either directly out to capture entering people OR they have to point near parallel with the entry door, down the front facade, so they aren't capturing everything and anything happening down the street. They capture you coming out of their premises, in essence, or going in. Or both.

You just have to press the right people is all. Take him to QCAT and let them handle it. No lawyers needed... they're judges and will rule.

Get what information you can about privacy, about OC regs and such, go to QCAT and start asking questions... then make a booking if needed to take him to QCAT and let him share his reasons with them, to be smacked directly.

 

[Deleted member 487]

Lmao what? Are you basically saying that being a convicted pedophile or even a non-offending pedo...

Ragdoll Circus knows that I support her and that I despise sex offenders. I only caution against the use of slang as not everyone may be aware of the differences. So please stop.

Ragdoll Circus, it seems anything I say will be dissected and criticized extensively. So I'll let it go with having you in my prayers, asking that you get what you want.