timothy gilletteThere's one fewer sex offender on the streets thanks to this New York mom. The 41-year-old (who has remained anonymous) was walking down a busy street with her 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son when a man passed them. Suddenly her daughter said, "Mommy, that man touched me!"

Ugh. Can you imagine the chill that would run through your spine if you heard that? And it gets worse. When the mother asked her where, the girl pointed to her crotch -- and then up the rest of her torso.

That was when the mom quickly whipped out her cellphone, boldly followed the man, and snapped a picture of him. Then she took that image straight to the nearest precinct.

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Thank God for cellphone cameras, right? And for women who aren't afraid of confrontation, but are smart enough not to physically attack a man on the street. I'm afraid that probably would have been my first instinct.

It turns out the man was a convicted sex offender named Timothy Gillette. About 20 years ago he was released after doing time for sexually assaulting two girls, ages 7 and 9.

This time police found him an hour after the mom snapped his photo. He was charged immediately. Who knows how many other children he's molested in the past 20 years! But I'm glad this mom was brave enough to snap him.

Would you have thought to do what this woman did if someone attacked your child on the street?

 

Image via NYPD