Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, are currently looking into disturbing reports involving TikTok accounts responsible for posting surreptitiously recorded videos of women and children. These clips, captured without the subjects’ consent, feature individuals engaged in mundane activities such as shopping or dining in various locations along the First Coast.
Although the offensive videos have been removed from TikTok, they depicted unsuspecting women and girls, with some posts augmented by captions that objectified or sexualized the individuals depicted. One particularly troubling caption read, “Jacksonville Florida sexy white teenage girls shopping inside Five Below.”
Local residents have expressed outrage over these violations of privacy. Dawn Pattishall, a Jacksonville mother, remarked, “I personally have not seen it, but my 18-year-old daughter has. It’s disgusting. It’s a total invasion of privacy.”
While TikTok has taken action by banning several of the accounts involved, screenshots of the deleted content continue to circulate online, further fueling public concern and highlighting the ongoing challenges in protecting personal privacy in the digital age.
“I personally have not seen it, but my 18-year-old daughter has,” said Jacksonville mother Dawn Pattishall. “It’s disgusting. It’s a total invasion of privacy.”
Many of the accounts associated with the videos have been banned, but screenshots continue circulating online.
One viewer even commented that someone had recorded his stepdaughter, asking others what he could do about it.
While Florida law makes it a crime to secretly record someone in private areas such as bathrooms or changing rooms, the law offers less protection in public spaces.
Former federal chief assistant prosecutor Curtis Fallgatter said the behavior could still amount to a criminal offense under the state’s stalking statute.
“It’s obviously perceived by those victims as a form of exploitation,” Fallgatter said. “There’s a stalking statute that could possibly apply. In other words, the stalking statute says if you’re inflicting emotional distress for no legitimate purpose, that’s a crime. So I don’t know what the legitimate purpose would be and certainly young children walking around shouldn’t be sexualized, so there’s a fair argument there they would violate that stalking statute. That’s a crime. It also permits the victims to get an injunction.”
In a statement, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed it has received screenshots from residents and is reviewing the allegations:
We would always remind people while out and about in a public setting, the potential exists to be captured on video or in pictures being taken by others. If the feeling is these pictures overstep into a privacy concern, or become construed as a potential criminal act – they can feel free to call JSO for a response and vetting of the scenario into a possible report writing and follow-up investigation.
“It’s a sad truth,” Pattishall said. “Now more than ever, we have to be aware of where we are and what we’re doing because anybody could be filming you at any time.”
