Man cited for taking pictures under bathroom stall at Merriam QuikTrip
MERRIAM, Kan. — A 21-year-old man cited for breach of privacy after he allegedly used his phone to take pictures under a bathroom stall.
This all happened just before 9 a.m. Saturday at a Merriam, Kansas QuikTrip. The employees stepped up to stop this man from getting away before police arrived.
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‘It’s pretty scary because there’s little girls that go in there too – you have to have the safety of your daughters that go in there,” said Karen Osbourn, a customer at the gas station.
It was exactly 8:44 a.m. when police were called.
A woman using the restroom noticed something peeking in and under the stall she was using. What she said she saw was a man holding his camera phone.
“It’s very alarming and one of the things we always talk to people about is to be self-aware, right if you’re going to a grocery store, if you’re down at a QuikTrip, even when you are using the restroom, be aware of your surroundings,” Capt. Jeremiah Waters of the Merriam Police Department said.
Aware she was, courageously and immediately she went and reported what had just happened to the staff who were working at the time.
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“We’re very proud of doing what she did obviously, and we want her to know that we are here to assist her,” Waters said.
After she brought her concerns forward, that’s when the employees figuratively and literally stood in the way of the 21-year-old man so he couldn’t leave. Occupying him as police were called and were responding.
After the initial investigation by the Merriam Police Department the man was cited with a breach of privacy charge.
“Take another person with you, if possible, just watch your surroundings and look in the bathroom before you enter all the way,” Osbourn said.
FOX4 asked Osbourn if this would make her think twice about using public restrooms. Without hesitation, she said yes.
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Waters tells FOX4 as of now they have not identified any more victims outside of the one who reported this. But he was clear that this case is not closed.
More severe charges are not off the table as this remains an open investigation.
