Pinellas Sheriff Says Viral Video Caused Unnecessary Alarm

DUNEDIN, FL – A viral Facebook video posted by a Dunedin woman is creating a panic in the community and a headache for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

On Monday, Sept. 17, Lynne Knowles posted a video of herself relating an incident in which a man followed her home from the Publix off Curlew Road, which is within walking distance from her home, and videotaped her on his cell phone before she confronted him and scared him away.

In the video, she warns women that they may be a target of human trafficking.

"There are men posted all over parking lots and they are trying to grab them (women)," she said in the video. "They’re looking to grab people. It’s happened four or five times to the county north of us."

The video has now been viewed by nearly nine million people and shared 838 times.

It also prompted a flood of phone calls to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office from residents fearing there’s an organized effort in Pinellas County to kidnap women and use them as sex slaves.

Sgt. Spencer Gross, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said Knowles is a victim of a crime, but that crime wasn’t human trafficking.

“We haven’t had a legitimate investigation into human trafficking for more than 18 months,” he said.

He said Knowles’ description of what occurred isn’t the typical method human traffickers use to obtain sex slaves.

He said the man was more likely a peeping Tom, panhandler, sexual deviant or just a creepy guy who gets his kicks out of following women.

“We arrested a guy two weeks ago who followed a woman into restaurant bathroom and videotaped her,” he said.

“We’ll never know the motivation of this guy because it happened in August and she never reported it,” Gross said. “If you experience something like this, please call us. It’s hard to investigate something if we don’t know about it.”

With the widespread use of surveillance video cameras at businesses, Gross said it might have been possible to capture the man following Knowles on video and identify him.

Knowles spoke to Gross on Tuesday about the video.

“She admitted she used the wrong words,” said Gross.

"Some of the backlash that’s come about me using the terminology human trafficking has been well taken," she said. "As I look back it was a hotbed term that had been used by many of my friends who were aware of the strange happenings in parking lots and grocery stores. I truly was only trying to help. I had absolutely no idea it would go viral."

Nevertheless, Knowles said she is glad she posted the warning.

"Although I have regret for using the terminology 'human trafficking,' I have absolutely no regret for bringing awareness to an issue that is happening," she said. "There are some very strange incidents that I have not only experienced, but I’m aware of happening also to my friends. Bringing awareness to such can only be a positive. It is my hope that everyone that saw that video utilizes the knowledge they gained to be more aware of their surroundings and to be a better neighbor, be a better person, and try to help someone when you can."

According to the Polaris Project on Human Trafficking , there are nearly 21 million people around the world who are being held captive by various means and forced into a life of sex or labor.

However, a 55-year-old women living a comfortable life in Dunedin is not the usual target of human traffickers.

Dotti Groover-Skipper of Tampa, the anti-trafficking coordinator for The Salvation Army’s Florida Divisional Headquarters, said traffickers tend to prey on society’s most vulnerable people.

“The perpetrators look for individuals who are marginalized,” she said.

Runaways are often targeted by sex traffickers because they are immature, frightened and alone.

“They’re lured with promises of shelter or simply grabbed off the streets because the trafficker knows no one will be looking for them,” she said. “Then they’re groomed, repeatedly raped, hooked on drugs or beaten down to control them.”

Similarly, traffickers target immigrants for slave labor with promises of well-paying jobs and stable homes for their families, only to imprison them by taking away their passports or threatening to call immigration officials to deport them.

While Knowles use of the term "human trafficking" caused unnecessary panic, Gross commended her on paying attention and being aware of her surroundings, a habit every resident would do well to imitate.

Video via Lynn Knowles

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)