Idaho police arrested a man after he took cellphone pictures of a woman changing clothes in a Target dressing room this week, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported. The man told law enforcement he is transgender, and identifies as a woman.
Bonneville County sheriff’s deputies arrested 43-year-old Sean Patrick Smith, who reportedly now identifies as Shauna Patricia Smith. He was charged with one count of felony voyeurism.
“The woman was begging for help as she chased the man out the door,” a witness said.
When the victim reportedly confronted Smith when she saw him, Smith fled from the store.
“The woman was begging for help as she chased the man out the door,” a witness told East Idaho News. “She kept saying she wanted those pictures deleted.”
Erica Winkels, a corporate public relations representative, said, “At Target, our guests are at the center of everything we do, and our commitment to creating a safe and secure shopping environment in our stores is unwavering. As part of this commitment to safety, we have robust procedures, policies, and training in place to make sure that our stores are places to shop and work.”
Winkels said that as soon as the incident took place, the store “immediately partnered with law enforcement.”
Target’s commitment to safety, however, may be hard to believe for the million-plus Americans who have signed a petition protesting the retailer’s move last April to allow guests to use restrooms and changing rooms of their self-perceived genders. As of June 15, the petition begun by the American Family Association has garnered well over a million signatures.
“The latest incident of this woman being frightened and losing her privacy in a public restroom is yet another example of what happens when long-standing social norms are smashed by activists without much care or thought to the real-world consequences,” Amy Ridenour, chairman for the National Center for Public Policy Research, told LifeZette.
Related: Target Can’t Flush Its Transgender Troubles Away
“While we can’t know what this person might still have done even in the absence of government agencies and corporate leaders pushing for sex-integrated public restrooms,” she continued, “there’s no doubt people with nefarious intent have been emboldened by their activism. Safe spaces, indeed.”
Local news stations reported that authorities tracked down Smith after they interviewed witnesses and reviewed security footage from the store.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Bryan Lovell, said he didn’t know whether the victim was wearing underwear when she was photographed, according to the Post Register.
“The public should continue to send messages to government and corporate leaders on this issue,” one policy expert emphasized.
Smith’s ex-wife, Katie Anderson, spoke to Idaho news station KPVI off-camera, the station said on its website. Anderson confirmed her ex-husband began transitioning to a woman after their divorce in January, the station reported.
Anderson also said she hasn’t had contact from him since April, but heard through friends that he is currently taking hormones.
Anderson said it makes her sick to her stomach that her former husband would do something like what he is accused of doing. She hopes whatever happens is the best for everyone involved.
“The public should continue to send messages to government and corporate leaders on this issue,” said Ridenour of the transgender bathroom issue in America. “Some will back down if they see the public is not.”
If convicted for his crime, Smith faces up to five years in prison.
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