Peeping Tom photographed in Castleton Square mall dressing room
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police are searching for a suspected peeping Tom after a young woman reported being photographed in the dressing room of the Forever 21 inside the Castleton Square mall.
The victim, 20-year-old Maddy Lisk, said Tuesday afternoon she went shopping for a swimsuit at the store and noticed a man’s feet and shoes in the stall next to her in the unisex dressing room.
“I didn’t really think anything of it until I started getting undressed and I had already tried on all my swimsuits and I leaned down to pick up my T-shirt and I saw his phone propped up against his clothes and I think his shoe was holding it up just right,” she said. “I grabbed my T-shirt and put it over myself and then I just instantly wanted proof of this situation and I got out my phone and started to take pictures.”
Lisk snapped two photos of the man as he was quickly moving around the dressing room, one of just his feet and an other with his hands holding a piece of clothing.
“I was shaking,” she said. “By the time I came out he was already like speed walking, already halfway across the store, and I could see him.”
Lisk can recall what the man was wearing but never saw his face. She reported the incident to the dressing room attendant right away and then made reports to law enforcement and mall security.
“I just felt so gross afterward,” Lisk said. “I was just shaking so bad because it was just you don’t think it would happen. You don’t think people could be that gross and that bad. But, it did.”
She said Forever 21 staff were very apologetic and she overheard them talking about changing the unisex dressing room to allow men in the back and women in the front. She said until the stalls are enclosed from floor to ceiling, the problem could still persist even if men and women are partially separated.
Managers at the Forever 21 store told News 8 they submitted surveillance video to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Lisk said one employee told her he had been seen in the store several times before.
“Now all I’m thinking about is this video or pictures that this man has on his phone of me,” she said, “and I’m just thinking if I would have just reached under the stall and grabbed his phone? But, you can’t do that.”
Lisk posted her experience on social media and many commented, saying they would have grabbed the phone or chased down the suspect.
“You don’t think about that in the moment. You’re just shaking and thinking what just happened,” she said, adding that she’s turning to online shopping in the future.
IMPD has yet to announce an arrest in this case and have not publicized the surveillance video.
Forever 21 Corporate Headquarters released this statement:
“Forever 21 takes the privacy and safety or of our customers extremely seriously and is committed to making Forever 21 an environment where everyone can feel safe in their shopping experiences. We are fully cooperating with the local authorities in their investigation of this situation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we ask that you contact the appropriate authorities for any additional information at this time.”
