O’Fallon, Mo — Two women, who do not want to be identified for obvious reasons, were both victims of voyeurs recently, according to O’Fallon, Missouri police.
One of the victims, who’s 20 years old, fought tears, describing what happened this past May 6th inside a Target store dressing room on Highway K.
Court records say the suspect entered the stall next to her and used the construction of the stall to scale the wall.
“I didn’t hear anything,” the victim said. “I was changing, trying on different clothes and then when I grabbed the swimsuit, I turned around and saw something above and I looked up and it was his face.”
She froze at first, then worked up the courage to act.
She said, “I started crying off to the side and then that’s when I was like, I really don’t want that to happen again to anybody else.”
An O’Fallon Police probable cause statement says 41-year-old Gabriel Wood was seen on Target surveillance footage, in which he reportedly “attempted to conceal his identity with a wig.” Police also report finding Wood with a “notebook with admissions related to peering on women in dressing rooms.”
The second victim did not even enter a dressing room. She was wearing a dress, shopping for a baby shower card, when she noticed, between her legs on the ground, a small linen basket with a cell phone inside.
“I got almost nauseous instantly, once I noticed what was going on.”
Her incident was this past June 2nd, at the Dollar Tree, also on Highway K in O’Fallon. She says a store clerk told her… “‘Oh, that’s the same description as someone who’s been in here previously and this happened to two other women.’”
Attorney Bob Pedroli represents both women. He says stores must do more to protect people. He said, “Not only are these events for voyeurs foreseeable, but they are also happening on a regular basis.”
Incredibly, we interviewed Pedroli 13 years ago about suspect Gabriel Wood.
Pedroli added, “The same guy’s back, doing the same thing, looking over the top of a changing room cubicle.”
Neither Dollar Tree nor Target responded to our requests for comment.
Both suspects this month have court appearances in their attempts to lower their bond and get out of jail. We’ll be there.