Alicia Rose was with the Louis Saldenah masquerade band, about to dance her way past the judges at Saturday’s Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival parade, when she noticed a cluster of men who were clearly not part of the group.

Disparagingly known amongst carnival participants as “stormers” — unwelcome people who elbow their way into the masquerade parade, typically without a costume — the four men were being repeatedly asked to leave by members of Saldenah, because the group didn’t want stragglers costing them points.

According to Rose, the men would briefly leave, only to return a few minutes later.

It was during one of their returns that a Saldenah group member made a disturbing observation: one of the men had what appeared to be a camera attached to his belt, and was “clearly filming girls’ butts,” Rose said.

Another man was holding a camera “and he was putting his hand down between girls’ legs, as they were dancing,” she said.

“We started yelling at them and they really didn’t do anything. They didn’t leave, they kind of laughed at us,” Rose said. “And then we just started pulling girls away from them, so that they wouldn’t be caught on camera.”

“It was upsetting, it was distracting from our celebration. It felt very disrespectful to the culture,” she said.

Rose has notified Toronto police about the incident and said two officers took a statement from her Sunday. She and others hope video of the men using the cameras surfaces, catching them in the act and aiding the investigation.

Toronto police could not be reached for comment Monday.

In the meantime, Rose and others have taken to social media in an effort to identify the men. Shortly after discovering the “stormers” were taking illicit photos or videos, Rose began taking photos of her own showing two of the men.

She and others have now begun circulating those photos on Facebook and Twitter, some tweeting the men’s images with the hashtag #CaribanaCreepers. Rose also provided the photos to investigators.

Craigg Slowly, a spokesperson for the Caribbean Carnival festival, said organizers have been made aware of the incident and will co-operate however they can.

Festival organizers go to great lengths, including placing tall fences around the Exhibition Place grounds, to ensure only parade participants can enter certain areas, including places where the groups are judged.

The incident detracted from the joy of Saturday’s parade, the highlight of the Caribbean festival and a popular attraction for thousands of participants and spectators alike, Rose said.

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She has been either a spectator or participant for many years. One of her favourite aspects of the parade is that “everybody becomes family, even if you don’t know people, you just start dancing with them or talking to them. She feels the men took advantage of that.

“To feel so unsafe, and have to feel worried about what you were doing or how you were acting … just made the whole day really uncomfortable. It took away from the joy of the day.”