ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – An act of voyeurism was reported inside a women’s public bathroom, and St. Augustine police say the suspect was caught in the act.
According to the St. Augustine Police Department, the incident occurred at about 5:30 p.m. in the heart of a heavily foot-trafficked tourist area of St. Augustine.
According to police, a man had snuck into the bathroom and stayed hidden inside a stall that was labeled “out of order.” While hidden, police said, the man stuck a mirror under the stall and began spying on a woman in the next stall.
Police said the woman looked down and noticed the mirror and that she smacked it out of the man’s hand before running out of the bathroom to alert her boyfriend. Investigators said the boyfriend held the man down until police arrived.
Police identified the suspect as Christopher Hampton, 26. He’s facing a charge of voyeurism.
“He did admit he had done this other times,” Sgt. M. Ochkai, with the Police Department, told News4JAX.
The woman and her boyfriend told News4JAX they were both tourists.
“I’m very surprised this happened in broad daylight and very concerned about it now,” said Bonnie Moreton, a tourist who was visiting from Canada.
Ochkai said the woman who reported the incident was doing the right thing.
“She was being aware of her surroundings. She wasn’t on her phone. She wasn’t paying attention to other things. She was actually focused on her surroundings even though she thought she was at a private place,” Ochkai said.