Transgender Woman Charged With Voyeurism in Target Dressing Room

Police in Idaho charged a transgender woman this week with videotaping an 18-year-old woman in a Target dressing room.

Authorities from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office were called to Target on Monday after an 18-year-old woman saw someone taking photos or filming video with an iPhone over the top of a fitting room barrier, East Idaho News reported. The police arrested Shauna Smith, 43, on Tuesday on one felony count of voyeurism. She was booked as a male, under her legal name, Sean Patrick Smith.

The 18-year-old told authorities she had been trying on swimwear at the Target when she noticed the iPhone, according to court documents obtained by East Idaho News. Smith later told police she had previously made other videos of women undressing for the “same reason men go online to look at pornography,” the documents said. She then showed the detective a video she said was filmed in a Target fitting room.

Target has been at the center of a nationwide controversy over transgender rights since it announced in April that it would allow customers to use the fitting room or restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. The decision prompted the conservative American Family Association to call for a boycott of the retail chain because the group claimed the transgender bathroom and fitting room policy would allow sexual predators to access victims.

After the incident this week, Target said it was committed to “creating a safe and secure shopping environment” and that it cooperated with local law enforcement as soon as it learned of the complaint, according to local NBC affiliate KPVI-TV.