TRENTON, Mich. – A man is facing multiple felonies after allegedly recording an underage girl while she was trying on clothes.
The bold act took place Tuesday at the Salvation Army Van Horn in Trenton.
“It’s disgusting, really. It’s uncalled for,” said Nichola Freeland.
Nichola is a Salvation Army customer who can’t believe a 14-year-old girl was being victimized in the fitting room by a man recording her while she was changing.
“You just have to be on alert all the time. But like kids, they don’t know better, they’re just having the time of their life. And then all of a sudden, there’s somebody taking advantage of it, which is horrible,” Nichola added.
Trenton Police Chief Mike Hawkins insisted that finding the suspect, who has been identified as 32-year-old Eric Theodore Williams, was a major priority.
“It’s a serious crime, and it’s against children. It’s a creepy situation, obviously,” said Chief Hawkins.
But after being seen by employees, Williams took off in a car that cops would later find the car down the street, empty. After a brief search in the brush nearby, officers found Williams and took him into custody.
“What I like to think is that our officers go above and beyond. We’ll do everything we can to make sure that we protect our residents and anybody visiting the city of Trenton,” Hawkins said.
Williams is now facing a slew of charges, including using a computer to commit a crime, a 2 to 4-year felony, along with surveilling an unclothed person, which is a 2-year felony.
“It’s very disturbing,” Hawkins said. “You sit there and at night, you think, wow, you’re going to hold on a little bit tighter to the young ones, because there are some definite people out there that mean harm to kids, and we’re going to do our best to bring them to justice,” Hawkins said.
“I will be more aware of when I’m going to the fitting rooms, that’s for sure,” said Sandi Cuthbert.
Williams was given a $100,000 cash bond.
He’s also a possible suspect in a similar incident at a gym where he’s accused of going as far as moving ceiling tiles to look in other tanning areas. That incident is still under investigation.
