ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A woman sent a warning to others just hours after she said a man tried to take photos up her skirt Friday in the parking lot of Flagler Hospital.
Her message: "Don't be afraid to stop and turn around and say, 'What are you doing?'"
The woman, who did not wish to be identified, told News4Jax that she went to a doctor's appointment at the hospital in St. Augustine and noticed a man following her as she was leaving. She said the man seemed strange, but she never questioned him.
"As I was leaving the doctor's office, a young man got in the elevator with me and followed me out of the elevator," she said. "I didn't think anything about it."
The woman said the man continued to follow her to the parking lot, where she noticed that he was bent down low with his cellphone aimed at the bottom of her dress and seemed to be taking photos.
"I could see from the shadow that he was holding a telephone and taking pictures or videos -- underneath my dress," she said.
The woman said she told hospital security, which alerted the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. She said she gave a deputy information about what happened while security guards reviewed surveillance.
The Sheriff's Office told News4Jax that it is investigating, but after reviewing the video, it can't confirm a crime was committed.
The woman said she wishes she would have reacted when she felt the man near her.
"I hope other women will learn from this. Don't be embarrassed to say something. You can always apologize later if you're mistaken. It's a lot better to be embarrassed than to have something happen to you. You can't undo that," she said.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith reiterated her advice, explaining what people should do if they find themselves in this situation.
"Contact someone. Contact law enforcement. Get a good physical description of the person, and if they're in a car, get a tag number. Notify law enforcement and let them know what you're suspicions are," Smith said.
According to the woman, security guards said they saw the man on surveillance footage leaving the hospital with a pregnant woman.
Smith said the surveillance video could be key in helping deputies identify the man, so they can check his social media accounts and determine if he did take any photos and whether they were distributed.
"With surveillance video, they may be able to get a tag number, or (find) someone (who) recognizes him if he frequents the hospital," Smith said.
Anyone who was at Flagler Hospital on Friday and has any idea who the man could be is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 904-824-8304. Deputies said they would like to talk with him.