A local park outside of Atlanta is being “terrorized” by droves of sex-crazed people copulating in broad daylight on top of picnic tables, prompting police to launch a “sex sting” operation to stop them.
Police in East Point said they’ve received hundreds of complaints in the last few months from outraged residents reporting people engaging in various sex acts on tables and in the woods of Sykes Park at all times of the day.
The park has apparently emerged online as a place for strangers to meet up for a public tryst, cops said.
“The issue at one of our most popular parks has caused the community around that park to live in fear. Parents cannot walk their kids in the park. Children cannot walk their dogs or play in the park. Citizens cannot enjoy a peaceful day in the park,” East Point Police Chief Shawn Buchanan said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The park has somehow made it onto a nefarious website known as a meeting place for illicit sexual behavior,” he said. “We have made arrests, upgraded patrols and assigned officers to that park all to no avail.”
Police have set up surveillance in the area and are monitoring social media and other websites offenders often use to organize meet-ups, 11Alive reported. So far, nearly two dozen people have been arrested and charged with public indecency.
Neighborhood resident Napoleon Black told the outlet he used to love walking his dogs in the park, but now says the park isn’t safe for families.
“You’re talking 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 11 p.m., and this is not what we want in this park,” Black said.
“I wouldn’t send my wife. I wouldn’t send my kids,” Black continued. “I wouldn’t send any minors over into a park at night or during the day, for that matter, unless I was with them like a hawk.”
Buchanan dismissed criticism the department faced online accusing cops of targeting those who were arrested for their alleged “lifestyles” by posting their photos online in an effort to discourage would-be offenders.
“We are faced with a serious problem in the park. On one hand, we have a community that is being terrorized by the illicit actions all times of the day by selected individuals. On the other hand, we don’t want any group of people to believe we are targeting them,” he said.
“At no point have we mentioned any lifestyle in the post nor are we aware of these individuals’ lifestyles. The [social media] post comments are based on pure speculation.”
Police said some residents have threatened to take actions into their own hands to stop the behavior, which it discouraged.
In a follow-up statement on Wednesday, the department said they “want to make it clear that all individuals arrested were arrested in broad daylight.
“The reason we are adamant about this issue is because all incidents are occurring in broad daylight. We have over 100 videos documenting these acts in the broad daylight,” police emphasized.