OXFORD, Miss.– A 19-year-old employee from Lafayette County, Mississippi is accused of using his phone to secretly record a woman while she was in a bathroom.
Amber Ferguson was surprised to learn an employee at a Kroger store in Oxford had been arrested for allegedly using his phone to secretly record women in one of the store’s bathrooms.
“Predator? Just being stupid? I have no idea why certain people do certain things…I have no idea,” she said.
Lt. Hildon Sessums with Oxford Police said the alleged incident was reported the afternoon of March 1st.
“We received a call from somebody at Kroger who said that she was in the women’s bathroom and saw a cell phone come from the stall next to her and believed somebody was trying to record her while she was in the stall,” he said.
Lt. Sessums said police made the scene at Kroger and the suspect was already out of the bathroom.
The suspect was identified as Jaxson Parker by store management who were watching surveillance video when police arrived.
Parker was arrested at the store without incident and charged with a Felony.
We were told by a store employee that Parker had been terminated, but Kroger’s official response merely states, “We are working with the Oxford Police Department to help with this ongoing investigation.”
Lt. Sessums declined to give Parker’s address or why Parker was in the women’s bathroom. He did confirm that police will be looking at Parker’s social media activity.
“Everybody now has their social media accounts in their phones so all that will come out when we’re able to get into his cell phone,” he said.
Police praised the victim for quickly getting out of the bathroom and keeping her eyes on the suspect who Sessums says violated the woman’s privacy.
Lt. Sessums told us police are asking anyone who may have had a similar experience to come forward.
He said the case will be presented to a Grand Jury and if a True Bill is returned police will move forward with the case.
Parker was charged with secretly photographing for a lewd purpose and is no longer an employee at the store.
He was being held on a $5,000 bond.