Clearwater police arrest suspected video voyeur

CLEARWATER, Fla. - A New York man is accused of recording a woman as she was changing in a bathroom/dressing room on Clearwater Beach. 

Police said around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, two women flagged down an officer in the 400 block of South Gulfview Boulevard. The women had grabbed 29-year-old Gabriel Mejias by the shirt and he had his hands in the air.  One of the women, a 25-year-old visiting from South Florida, told officers she was changing in the bathroom along Beach Walk and noticed someone holding a phone underneath the divider of the two stalls. 

"That’s when she gasped or did something that startled him," Rob Shaw, the spokesperson for the Clearwater Police Department, said. "He ran out of that area. She ran out at the same time to try to confront him."

READ: Man charged with 100 counts of child porn accused of recording kids in Lutz library bathroom

Police said the victim convinced Mejias to delete the video before officers arrived. Mejias, according to CPD, admitted to officers that he videotaped the woman, and he turned over his phone as evidence to be searched. He’s charged with video voyeurism. 

"You never know what people are up to. So, just kind of always be aware of your surroundings when you're in a situation like that. You expect privacy and you should have privacy. You shouldn't have to worry about somebody recording you while you're in the privacy of a changing stall or bathroom," Shaw said. 

"Just be aware of your surroundings. If you have any other place to change, that's also a good idea. You know, if you can do it before you get to the beach or in your hotel room or whatever the case may be, that’s always an option as well. But, you expect privacy and you should have privacy in those situations," he said.

Pearl Davis and her friends who are visiting for the week from Maryland said they’re going to be extra cognizant of their surroundings after hearing about the incident.

"I was shocked," Davis said. "I was completely shocked because you usually don't see that around down her," she said.

"You don't expect a peeping Tom with the camera underneath the bathroom when you're trying to go to the bathroom," Davis’ friend Sylvia Hafer said. "It’s so awful." 

"Do your due diligence because you never know. I mean, you have to be aware of your surroundings even though you're in paradise," Hafer said.

Mejias posted bond and was released from jail Monday morning. Clearwater Police said it’s too early in the investigation to say right now if there could be other victims.

This is the second case of its kind in less than a month in the Tampa Bay Area. Thursday, Hillsborough County deputies announced 27-year-old Christian Stark is facing several counts of voyeurism and 100 counts of possession of child pornography after he allegedly recorded a 12-year-old girl in a public library bathroom in Lutz. 

Deputies said there are four additional victims in that case who are all juveniles and they think there could be more. Deputies are asking anyone who came into contact with Stark at the library on Feb. 13 and thinks they may be a victim to come forward.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS