Man charged with recording women in Forever 21 dressing room
Austin TX June 4 2017 A man suspected of recording women in a changing room of a Forever 21 in Barton Creek Square mall at the end of March faces a charge of invasive visual recording.
According to an arrest affidavit filed on Thursday, police were sent out to the mall after receiving reports that a man had propped his phone up in a pile of clothes in a changing room stall and recorded a woman as she undressed on March 29.
The woman in the dressing room told police she was trying on clothes when the store’s manager knocked on the door and told her someone was taking pictures of her, and that there was video of the incident.
The next day, the man returned to the store and was immediately recognized by staff, the affidavit said.
Mall security officers began following the man until police arrived.
According to the affidavit, responding officers identified the man as Martin Ammerman, 41, and began to ask him questions about his phone.
Ammerman told police he may have left the device at Forever 21, but authorities were unable to find it during a search, the document said.
A security officer eventually found the phone tucked away in some blankets that Ammerman had stopped in front of while being followed by security.
Police found 60 videos and more than 100 photos of various women, some of whom were naked or partially naked in changing rooms, the affidavit said.
Ammerman was not listed as in custody at the Travis County Jail on Friday morning.
Invasive visual recording is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.
Statesman