COMMUNITY ALERT: PHOTOGRAPHER PHILIP PENTY/PLAINSWALKER PHOTOGRAPHY

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FANGS

Commanding Officer
Community Staff
Division Staff
Members of the 405th,

Often on Division we have a flurry of activity that you guys will never see. Sometimes it is working on fun stuff for all of you and other times, like this past week, it is unfortunately not. Usually we never need to talk to you about the unfun stuff but this situation is too important not to.

It was brought to our attention by the Staff of Pacific that there was a situation in which they were forced to remove someone from their Facebook group in an effort to protect their members. This action is 100% supported by Division. The person removed was NOT a member of this forum and we have ensured that he also is not a member of any other 405th Facebook group. Just prior to this, myself and Art had received a message from another non-405th member with a warning about this person's past conduct. Messages like that always make me uneasy. I never take one person's word and take action. My Staff and I will always do as much digging as we can before we decide what to do. In this situation, things happened quickly and Pacific took the right action.

This person is a photographer in the area of the Pacific Regiment. He also travels to cons in Canada. The message we received warning about him advised that this photographer had recently been removed from another local cosplay group for misconduct described as "being a bigot and fat shaming women". Certainly, that is 100% concerning and once we did some quick fact checks would have been enough to remove him. However, before we had a chance to start doing that, he posted on the Pacific FB group and offered his services. I am told that both EVAkura and HitboxWorkshop have previous knowledge of this guy and his actions, but I don't have specific information beyond that with respect to details etc.

Since this time, I had the opportunity to speak with the person who reported this matter to us as well as to a member of the admin staff from Cosing a Commotion. With this confirmation, I am now comfortable in telling you that this photographer's name is Philip Penty and he also goes by Plainswalker Photography. From this person, I received the following information:

'I do know he hoards a number of images the models never see. We were also informed of an issue that occurred outside of our group, where he inappropriately touched a model he was shooting at his apartment, and made a number of lewd comments about her posing in his bed. He has no concern for boundaries and professionalism, despite numerous warnings and suggestions on how he can improve his behavior. It is also obvious that he prefers to shoot with women who are scantily clad (which I have experienced, myself), and outright refuses other women because they're "too heavy," which is also something a couple of our members brought forth to us."​

One could say that the 405th is predominately made up of males and because of that, we don't really have to worry about a predator like this. While I agree about the make-up of the 405th, I do not agree that this isn't a worry for all of us. I would say that the vast majority of us whether female or not have a female friend/partner/spouse/relative that they would not want to see treated in this manner. And as a community, we look out for one another whether it is another 405th member, or a 405th member in costume from another fandom or simply just another cosplayer from any group in any fandom. And on a personal note, I can tell you from my job experience that males are not immune to this sort of treatment so this is not a solely female issue. NO ONE TREATS PEOPLE LIKE THAT ON OUR WATCH. Speak up. Be the good example. Support one another in this crazy hobby we all have. Report what you see.

Following my message there will be a message from our Judicial Officer with a reminder about what is not tolerated and what to do should you experience it. Thank you to EVAkura, PerniciousDuke and HitboxWorkshop for their quick thinking and vigilance in protecting their members.
 
To all our Members and Staff,

In light of both past and recent events it has occurred to us that a friendly reminder needed to be sent regarding a warning on personal conduct and safety.

As many here know, in the Cosplay Community as a whole, there have been many allegations and reports of misconduct by those both within and outside of the Cosplay Community, those affiliated with groups and outside of groups. Thankfully at this time no such reports have come to us of any currently active 405th members.

That being said, we will never condone at any time such actions, be they body shaming, harassment, degradation, bullying, sexualization, etc. of anyone for any reason be it in person at a live event, through the forum or any of our social media outlets.

Please always be aware of your surroundings, and those of your mates. If you see any act of misconduct that either endangers or threatens any of our fellow members or anyone in the Community or vicely, any of our members performing any actions that can be construed as misconduct, please inform your Regimental Command Staff Fangs, Cadet, and myself or any combination of those people. We always take such reports seriously, and each instance brought to Division is deeply and carefully reviewed and researched before action is taken.

While we do not condone poor behavior we also are not on witch hunts either.

Thank you.
Ashuraa
Divisional Judiciary Officer
Colonial Reimental Commander
 
He just pinged up in the Vancouver Area group Cosplay Connect. Thanks FANGS for the visibility. The admins there have been informed.
 
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