SUNRISE, Fla. – New details have emerged after police said a man is accused of trying to record two women while they were changing inside a Sawgrass Mills Mall dressing room on Monday.
Local 10 News interviewed the victims exclusively under the condition that their identities be concealed. Ashley, 19, and Emma, 22, are cousins from Georgia who were at Sawgrass Mills Mall with their family on Monday afternoon for a shopping trip.
“We were browsing around H&M and decided to try on some clothes,” Emma said.
“I guess the men’s dressing room was closed, so the women’s side had both guys and girls,” Ashley said.
“There was a guy behind us, and he didn’t seem suspicious at all,” Emma said. “He was just waiting in line.”
Little did they know, that man would end up in the stall next to them.
“I was taking off my shirt over my head, and when I looked up, I saw a camera over the wall of the fitting room,” Ashley recalled. “It’s disgusting.”
“I tried to grab the phone, but it was too high, and I couldn’t reach it,” Emma said. “We confronted him, saying, ‘You were recording us; we saw you,’ but he denied it.”
“He denied it to the workers, and they let him leave,” Ashley added. “Moments later, we talked to the cops and gave them our statement.”
The victims hope the photos that were released by the Sunrise Police Department will help police catch the alleged voyeur.
“This probably isn’t the first time he’s done it, and I wouldn’t want anybody else to go through that,” Ashley said.
Natanael Villalobos, the father and uncle of the victims, said he is urging Sunrise police and mall security to work together to help identify and apprehend the culprit.
Police hope the released photos will help identify the suspect. The victims describe him as a slim, balding white male in his 40s, with a light beard and standing around 5′5 or 5′7.”
Local 10 News has reached out to Sawgrass Mills Mall management, Simon Malls, for comment.
Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call Sunrise police at 954-746-3370 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.