Police looking for man suspected of hiding camera inside mall restroom
Crime Stoppers of El Paso is looking for the alleged peeping Tom suspected of placing a hidden camera inside a family restroom inside Cielo Vista Mall.
“I think that’s really creepy. As the mother of a young daughter we use that family restroom quite a bit, to know that there’s a hidden camera there is definitely something we wouldn’t expect and it creeps us out to know that our privacy is invaded that way,” said parent Fernanda Payan Schober.
The suspect, captured by his own camera, allegedly hid the camera and pointed it towards the toilets the afternoon of Saturday April 22, 2017.
Police said the camera was discovered soon after it was hidden and reported immediately.
“This something that has been somewhat of a recent trend across the nation so it doesn’t surprise us that we saw something like this in El Paso. There’s been arrests in Odessa there’s been arrests in Fort Worth, Dallas where people have put cameras in restroom and even dressing rooms,” said police spokesman Det. Javier Sombrano.
ABC-7 contact Cielo Vista Mall officials to ask if they would be changing security measures after the incident.
They sent ABC-7 this statement:
“The safety of our shoppers is always our top priority and we take this incident very seriously. We are working closely with the El Paso Police Department to ensure that this individual is caught. As this is an active investigation, we ask that you reach out to El Paso Police Department with any questions.”
As for the suspect recording himself during the process, some chuckled.
“It’s a little weird that he wouldn’t of thought to get himself out of the camera but since there’s pictures out there hopefully someone can identify him,” Schober said.
Anyone with information on the man seen in the photo above is asked to call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at (915) 566-TIPS (8477).