• A middle-aged man approached a teenage girl at Long Bay Beach, making her uncomfortable.
• Police identified and spoke to the man after the incident, emphasising acceptable social behaviour.
• Another young woman reported a similar encounter, urging others to contact police with information.

A middle-aged man approached a teenage girl on a North Shore beach and made her feel “very uncomfortable” when asking her to pose for photos.

Police said they have followed up on a report of a man acting suspiciously on Auckland‘s Long Bay Beach on Tuesday afternoon and had a prevention discussion with the man.

An anonymous post to a community page earlier this week said, “My teenage daughter was approached by a middle-aged man at the beach this morning and invited to have professional photography taken.

“He showed photos on his phone of [his work] of topless men and women, and was very persistent and took up her personal space.

“She was made to feel very uncomfortable, and she excused herself, after which she became very upset.”

The post said they passed on the man’s details to the police.

The Waitematā East area prevention manager, Inspector Tim Williams, said the man who was the subject of this report was identified and spoken to.

“While no criminal offending occurred, police have had a prevention discussion with him about his behaviour.”

Police said they made it clear to the man what acceptable social behaviour is.

“We understand the interaction left the young person feeling uncomfortable.

“Police acknowledge her family for doing the right thing and reporting this incident. She has been provided an update on action taken and was reassured the matter had been dealt with,” Williams said.

North Shore councillor Richard Hills said the young women did the right thing in contacting police. Photo / Dean Purcell

The Herald shared the post with North Shore councillor Richard Hills, who was unaware of the alleged incident.

“This sounds extremely concerning, and the young woman did the absolutely right thing in contacting police.

“I hope she and anyone else affected is doing okay and they seek support if they feel they need to.

“This is a police matter, and I hope they are looking seriously into this. And I would encourage anyone else who may have information about this to contact police on 105.”

‘Quite upset’: Another woman’s similar experience

Another young woman told the Herald she was recently approached by a man on Long Bay Beach in similar circumstances to Tuesday’s incident.

“When he approached me, he was completely by himself.

“He came up to me and he came quite close and he made a comment like, ‘Oh, you’re so beautiful.’”

She said she was a people pleaser and found it difficult to walk away.

“He literally was talking to me for about 45 minutes about how he should take my photos.”

Aucklanders at Long Bay Beach. Photo / Alex Burton

She said he asked her questions about becoming a model.

“He tried to get me to agree on the spot.

“I was quite upset about it.”