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Gage Wright was accused of suspicious behavior while working out and reading in Crandall Park in Glens Falls.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Ryan Rabine<\/p>\n
GLENS FALLS\u00a0\u2014 A 34-year-old man with autism has been accused by fellow community members of harassing children. He\u2019s been mocked online, ridiculed in public and physically assaulted multiple times.<\/p>\n
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He says all he was doing was reading and exercising in the park.<\/p>\n
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For months, Gage Wright has been a familiar figure in Crandall Park in the heart of Glens Falls, often dressed head to toe in black, prompting some to refer to him as \u201cthe man in black.\u201d But recently, he has been accused of recording children in the park. Wright denies that, and friends and family have rallied to his defense.<\/p>\n
The controversy has spilled onto social media, where videos of Wright in the park have circulated. Community members have also confronted him in public and, according to his longtime friend Ryan Rabine, physically assaulted him on five occasions.<\/p>\n
The Glens Falls Police Department released a statement<\/a> on July 23 condemning \u201cvigilante actions\u201d involving residents \u201cconfronting and assaulting other people based upon their belief of suspicious behavior,\u201d and encouraging community members to notify police instead of taking matters into their own hands.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery report involving this individual was investigated. Police found no criminal activity, and the Glens Falls Police Department found no criminal record involving this individual in the city,\u201d Glens Falls Mayor Diana Palmer said in a statement to the Times Union. \u201cWe ask the public not to rely on rumors or social media reports and not to take matters into their own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The controversy has divided residents and prompted Rabine to form a Facebook group, \u201cStand with Gage,\u201d that has grown to nearly 900 members. It has also prompted a debate about how neurodivergent people exist in public space.<\/p>\n \u201cVulnerable citizens and disabled children should not be forced to stay locked inside their homes because existing in public carries the risk of life-altering exposure, mockery, or even violence,\u201d said Chris Evans, a Saratoga County resident who has spoken out in Wright\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n The Times Union was unable to reach out to Wright; Rabine said that he is hiding from the public.<\/p>\n The accusations against Wright stem in part from the way he holds his phone, according to his supporters.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a good posture,\u201d Rabine said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t bend down to look at his phone or anything; he\u2019s always standing up straight and tall. So when he looks at his phone, he always looks like he\u2019s taking pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n Rabine said that he, too, has asked his friend if he was recording people, but Wright always said no. Rabine said that Wright also has a phone case that covers his camera specifically to avoid concerns like this.<\/p>\n Rabine said he has repeatedly asked people who accuse Wright of recording children to provide solid proof, but said no one has been able to give him any.<\/p>\n Wright\u2019s friend, Ryan Rabine, started a support group, \u201cStand with Gage,\u201d that hosts bodybuilding classes in the park for children and adults with autism.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Ryan Rabine<\/p>\n Although videos of Wright posted online have contributed to the harassment, people generally do not have an expectation of privacy in public places. That means someone can generally be filmed in a public park and the footage posted online, although there can be legal exceptions depending on the circumstances.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wright has occasionally verbally retaliated when people approach him and accuse him of recording children, according to videos of the exchanges that have been posted online. One\u00a0video<\/a> showed him repeatedly calling a woman a \u201cstupid fat ugly b____\u201d and a \u201cstupid c__\u201d after she called him an \u201cidiot\u201d and accused him of filming children.<\/p>\n The woman who recorded and posted the video, Theresa Fayette, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n After the videos began circulating, Rabine came to Wright\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n \u201cI was afraid the mob was going to really gang up and really do some serious damage to him,\u201d Rabine said. \u201cA lot of people really listened to what I said. People will be like, \u2018I\u2019m sorry, I was on the other side for a while until I started reading your comments.\u2019\u00a0\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The \u201cStand with Gage\u201d Facebook group\u2019s slogan is \u201cdifferent, not dangerous,\u201d and its members say they have begun watching out for Wright when he is in public.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople aren\u2019t used to different,\u201d Rabine said. \u201cI get it. If I didn\u2019t know Gage, I would\u2019ve felt some type of way, too. I would\u2019ve been like, \u2018All right, that\u2019s kind of weird.\u2019 But I would\u2019ve gone up and talked to him.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a 2022 study<\/a> from the Springer Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, individuals with autism face an increased rate of physical and sexual violence compared to the general population.<\/p>\n Almost 60% of people with autism have experienced physical and\/or sexual violence, according to the study. By comparison, about 40% of nonautistic adults have reported physical violence and almost 30% have reported experiencing sexual violence. Three-quarters of adults with autism have experienced more than two instances of the same type of violence, compared with about half of nonautistic adults, the study found.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Rabine himself has gotten flak for his advocacy because of his own history. Some have pointed to a 2017 case<\/a> stemming from an altercation between Rabine and his neighbor, in which she allegedly punched Rabine. In response, he grabbed her, held her down and threatened her with a snow shovel. Rabine was charged with four misdemeanors and felony criminal possession of a weapon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n