This was the scene in a Valencia campus bathroom last October. Recording the moment, one College of the Canyons student came face to face with a peeping tom. The victim confronted the man, attempting to capture his face. The man pushed the victim away and was seen running off.
“I looked right, and that’s when I saw the phone facing up towards me, and the person was lying on the floor in the stall next to me,” said the student who posted the video, who wished to remain anonymous.
“And then I saw their phone underneath my stall, recording me. At that instant, I yelled ‘what the hell’ loudly, and they instantly pulled their arm back and ran out of their stall,” the victim said.
After the incident, she called law enforcement and campus safety to report the man. By the time they arrived, he was already gone.
After the video had gone viral, the Sheriff’s department told the victim not to share the footage because officials believed it would tip off the suspect.
The student also shared that a local Instagram page had contacted her after seeing her post about the incident.
“They were the first ones to repost it and reply to me, and from there, everything spiraled; the news outlets started reaching out,” said the student.
“It wasn’t until then, after it came out on Fox News, that the Sheriff’s department contacted me and said they had finally assigned someone to my case. “
Last month was the third time a student reported a similar incident on campus in two years. This led the student to post the footage.
“The safety of our students is a top priority here at the college. We have a campus safety staff that’s on duty whenever students are on campus,” said Eric Harnish, College of the Canyons Public Relations officer.
“So, they’re here early in the morning and late at night, constantly on patrol. Our campus safety officers are well aware of what has occurred with the filming in the restrooms, and they have all been briefed on that,” said Harnish.
“They’re on the lookout for that. They’re making sure that as they are patrolling, they are passing by the restrooms and ensuring that those have been given attention,” said Harnish.
When the post went viral, the College officials released the security footage to the public. Now, posters are being put up all over the Valencia campus, warning females to be aware of their surroundings.
“You can’t expect the school to keep you safe because if you expect that, then you won’t be safe, so it’s our responsibility to keep ourselves safe,” said the victim
“One thing that I highly recommend is keeping the campus safety number on speed dial so that you don’t have to look it up in case of an emergency. I would say don’t wait until an emergency to prepare yourself.” The student advises.
As of late, no current updates on the suspect have been revealed.
