Suspect Photographs Woman in Public Bathroom Stall in Palo Alto

From the Palo Alto Police Department:

For the second time since last summer, a man entered a women’s public restroom at the Cubberley Community Center last night and used a cell phone to take a picture of a woman while she was in a stall. The suspect is at large. Police believe it is possible the same suspect is responsible for both crimes.

On Monday, February 9, 2015, at about 10:00 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a woman at the Cubberley Community Center at 4000 Middlefield Road reporting that someone had just photographed her while she was in a bathroom stall. Officers responded immediately but were not able to locate the suspect, despite checking the area with a police dog.

The investigation revealed that the victim, a woman in her twenties, had been walking down the breezeway towards woman’s restroom in the “J” wing of the community center. On her way, she passed a man with a metal push cart but they did not have any interaction with one another. She entered the empty restroom and went into a bathroom stall. A short time later, she saw a shadow and looked up to see an unknown suspect holding a cell phone over the dividing wall, apparently photographing or recording her while she was seated on the toilet. The victim yelled, and the person ran out of the bathroom.

Police interviewed a witness at the scene who reported seeing a man running out of the bathroom, and that description matched that of the man the victim had seen in the breezeway prior to the crime. The suspect is a man in his twenties, possibly either Hispanic or Asian. He is between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a “buzz” haircut and a thin mustache. He was wearing a black zippered hooded sweatshirt and black pants or long shorts. Officers did not locate the metal push cart. It is possible the victim and/or witness may be able to work with a police artist to produce a suspect sketch. If that occurs, we will release it publicly as soon as possible.

This case is similar to event that happened on July 17, 2014, at Cubberley Community Center in the “A” wing women’s restroom. The suspect described in that case was similar. The victim in that case was also a woman in her twenties. There is no suspect sketch from that incident. There have been no other similar incidents reported to police at Cubberley Community Center, or elsewhere in Palo Alto.

Detectives believe it is possible the same suspect is responsible for both crimes, and are actively investigating this incident. Officers are increasing patrols at the community center.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable atbit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.