A person unaffiliated with WashU was taken into custody after allegedly recording a woman inside a restroom in Olin Library. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

An individual was taken into custody after reportedly filming a Corner 17 employee in one of Olin Library’s women’s restrooms, according to the employee.

WashU Chief of Police Angela Coonce said that the individual was arrested by the WashU Police Department (WUPD) after officers received a call about their behavior at around 10:30 a.m. on Tue. Nov. 25. Coonce did not confirm whether the person was recording in the restroom and emphasized that the investigation into their conduct is ongoing. She added that the individual is not affiliated with the University.  

The employee — who requested anonymity and will be referred to as Y for safety reasons — said that while she was in a stall, the arrested individual in an adjacent stall pushed a backpack with a phone attached underneath the divider to record her. Y said her experience of being recorded by the individual was difficult. 

“This whole thing [was] a little traumatizing. I’ve seen it in the news, but I did not expect that it would happen [to] me or anyone I know,” Y said. “I kind of have an ‘Oh, my God’ mindset; I have to check everywhere I go now.” 

She added that she hopes women will pay more attention to their surroundings to ensure their safety. 

Y may not have been the first Corner 17 employee to encounter the arrested individual. A second Corner 17 employee, referred to as X, told Student Life that someone wearing the same shoes as the arrested individual repeatedly pushed a backpack into her stall on Nov. 19. X noted that she did not see a phone attached to the backpack on that day.

X took a photo of the individual’s shoes while they were pushing the backpack into her space. She said the shoes caught her attention because they were large and possibly men’s shoes, though she emphasized that she did not want to assume the person’s gender identity based on this limited information.

X returned to the restroom area with a coworker soon after the incident in hopes of identifying the individual. The coworkers waited outside the restroom for 30 to 45 minutes, but no one wearing the shoes she had photographed exited during that time.

On the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 25, Y used the women’s restroom near Corner 17. While she was in a stall, she noticed a backpack being pushed toward her; a phone in its side pocket appeared to have its camera pointed in her direction. She also noted that the shoes the person wore in the stall neighboring hers matched the ones X had photographed the previous week. 

Y returned to Corner 17 and told her coworkers. They decided to monitor the bathroom to determine what was happening. The group waited outside the restroom area and kept others from entering, warning them that they believed someone was recording women in the stalls. After 30 to 45 minutes with no one exiting the stall, a WashU student suggested they call the police.

The individual left the restroom soon after, wearing the same shoes seen the previous week. According to Y, the person “was disguised with a very short wig, a mask on, and glasses.”

Y said she confronted the individual about allegedly recording her. The person then tried to leave Olin. Y said she then grabbed the individual’s backpack to prevent them from leaving before police arrived, while another Corner 17 employee blocked the door.

Senior Mia Powell was sitting in Corner 17 when the individual tried to escape. She said WUPD officers reached the scene about 10 minutes after they were called and at least four police cars were outside the building. Upon arriving, the police instructed the individual to remove their wig, patted them down, and questioned them. Later, the person was handcuffed and put into a police car, according to Powell. 

Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications Julie Flory told Student Life that the arrested individual has been referred to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney.  

Y told Student Life that she believed the person may have been on campus before because they seemed “familiar” with the area.

After the incident, Y’s boyfriend found a post on the WashU subreddit from August in which an anonymous user wrote that someone had been recording in the women’s restroom in Green Hall.

“There was a man filming women with a camera hidden in a backpack placed near the stall divider in Green hall second floor women’s bathroom,” the post reads. “I noticed the backpack there intermittently for several weeks but didn’t think much of it. On 8/12 there were multiple women talking to a WashU police officer about it, apparently they saw the camera and called them. I figured there would be an email or something about it but haven’t heard anything so FYI.”

Student Life reached out to the user who made the post but has not received a response. Student Life also reached out to Coonce about the potential incident at Green Hall, who did not confirm or deny whether the incident took place.

“These are active investigations so there is no additional information available at this time,” Coonce wrote in an email to Student Life.

The incident in August is not reported in the WashU Crime Log. 

Coonce told Student Life via email that she encourages all WashU community members to contact WUPD if they observe suspicious activity.

“Anyone who believes they may have information regarding suspicious activity in a bathroom at Olin Library or anywhere on campus is asked to contact WashU PD.”