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Man charged after shopper sees camera under dressing room divider at 16th St. Mall store

Woman says young girl was the target of peeper
Posted at 3:50 PM, Feb 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-19 17:50:59-05

DENVER – A man faces an invasion of privacy charge after Denver police say a woman caught him holding his cell phone under the divider between changing rooms.

Police arrested Omar Rivas-Saenz, 27, after an incident at the Forever 21 store on the 16th Street Mall between Glenarm Place and Welton Street. He’s accused of peeping into a room with a young girl inside.

The incident occurred Dec. 23, 2017, but had not been made public until now.

A woman at the store told police she was waiting outside the changing rooms for a family member when she saw a man hold his cell phone under the divider between one room and another, police allege in a court document reviewed by Denver7 Investigates.

The woman reported that the man held it there for an extended period of time and appeared to be taking photos or videos of the person in the room next to him.

A Denver officer says the woman claimed the man appeared to be watching a “twelve- to fourteen-year-old girl.”

The woman who reported the incident told the girl’s mother, police say, and store security was called. Security waited outside the dressing room until police arrived, the court document says.

When police arrived they took the man’s cell phone, but details about what was found on it were not immediately available.

Rivas-Saenz faces an invasion of privacy-sex gratification charge, a misdemeanor.

Rivas-Saenz is due in court March 2, according to Denver online court records.