Walmart maintenance man arrested for voyeurism at North Port store

NORTH PORT, Fla. - Police in North Port say one woman’s complaint about a Walmart maintenance worker led them to find several photos of unsuspecting women on his phone.

It was last month, police say, when another shopper in the Tamiami Trail store alerted the woman after seeing the maintenance man use his phone to take photos underneath her dress.

"He was basically, potentially leaning down to clean something up and taking a shot," said Josh Taylor, Public Information Officer for North Port Police. "That's how it was initially discovered."

The woman talked to store managers, but they did not find any such photos on the worker’s phone.

The worker, identified by police as Joey Kauffman, later agreed to hand his phone over to investigators. Police say the NPPD digital forensic team was able to find and extract multiple images involving more than a dozen unsuspecting adult women on his phone.

Photo via NPPD

"In this particular case, it was put in the trash folder and left there so that made it a little simpler than normal for us," Taylor said.

Kauffman, 54, allegedly admitted taking the photos and was charged with video voyeurism. He has since bonded out of jail. 

Police say there are more victims. The other photos were apparently taken between August and September, and they’re asking anyone who may have seen anything suspicious during that time to contact them.

"These were customers and most of them probably have no idea," Taylor said. "These are all crimes of opportunity, in the loosest terms there, depending on the types of outfits that were being worn."

We contacted Walmart regarding the case. A spokesperson responded with this statement: 

"We take every customer complaint seriously and upon receiving this one, opened an investigation. The associate was immediately suspended and is no longer with the company.  We will coordinate with law enforcement should they have further questions. Please direct future inquiries to the police."

After announcing the arrest, Taylor said that North Port Police have received additional information which could lead to more charges being filed. 

If you saw anything suspicious relating to this case, NPPD would like to hear from you. You can contact Ofc. Shannon Fortuno at 941-467-0281 or sfortuno@northportpd.com.