That's so sad.
I can somewhat understand his position. The local neighbor girls who must be under 10 or so run a lemonade stand and hang out outside my drive since my road is dead end. Once a year, I stop by and buy it, but I find myself reluctant to do more because I don't want anyone to suggest I've taken interest in the children. I'd protect them to the death from perverts but if something were ever to happen, I'll be damned if someone suggests "well that guy seems to be around them all the time". Sad state of affairs.
I do look out for them. If I ever saw something odd, I'd intervene or call the cops, but I pretty much won't interact with them except very rarely.
About 20 years ago I was involved in coaching kids in Junior Olympic track and field. These days with false accusations, insinuations, and the like, I would be insane to participate in such an activity these days. Trouble is there are child molester types actually involved in "coaching" activities (anyone in Houston remember Bob Nash from cycling?), so when these child molesters get caught, it casts a pall on all the other adults legitimately involved in coaching kids.
One day, while my husband, sons and I were at a local minor-league baseball game, I told my boys, "Stay close, we don't want to lose you!"
My oldest (8 y.o. at the time) replied, "I know, 'cause this place is full of bad guys."
I stopped in my tracks and thought about what he'd just said. I told him, "Look around you. There are about 6000 people here today. About 5990 of them would never EVER hurt you, and of them, thousands of them would probably put their lives in harm's way to protect you if they could. The problem is...we can't tell which one of these folks IS the bad guy, and that's why we have to be careful."
After reading this article, I'm afraid I may have lied to my child. I guess I never really thought about how many men are truly and honestly afraid of being accused of something villainous. I am hopeful, though, that most men would overcome their fears and help my child if he needed it. If not, I fear we're surely lost as a society.
Regards,