A California woman is using social media to help find a man she says secretly recorded her inside a Nordstrom dressing room. Sophia Schades says mall security allowed the man to leave before police arrived. According to what the woman shared on her Instagram handle sophschade_, she caught him recording her with a phone that was hidden inside a shirt on the floor of the fitting room next to hers.
She confronted him as he tried to leave the store. Her video of the confrontation has received thousands of reactions online, and she says a report has now been filed with local authorities.
Schades said the incident happened on July 21 at a Nordstrom inside a mall in Cerritos, California. The Cerritos Sheriff’s Station, which is part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed to The California Post that a report was filed and that a detective has been assigned to the case.
Schades said she noticed a phone hidden inside a black shirt that was crumpled on the floor of the fitting room next to hers. She started recording with her own phone as the man, who was wearing a red shirt and black boots, came out and tried to hide his face.
In the video, she can be heard telling him, “I know you’re recording me.” He denied doing it, even though Schades said she had caught him on camera. She said she told store employees that she wanted to press charges.
Mall security followed the man as he left the store. Schades said security told her they would keep an eye on him, but the man managed to get away before police arrived.
Because the man had not been identified, Schades posted the video online and asked people to help find him. She later told her followers that she believes she has learned his name through tips from people online. However, she said she is not sharing the name yet because she wants to confirm it with police and is concerned about possible defamation issues.
Internet Reacts to Dressing Room Filming Incident in California
The video, which was also shared on X by @ExxAlerts, sparked strong reactions online, with many commenters expressing outrage at the man’s alleged behavior. One commenter wrote, “Disgusting psychopath molester.” Another echoed the sentiment with a call for harsh punishment, simply stating, “20 years in prison.”
Several commenters connected the incident to broader debates about gender and access to private spaces. One wrote, “He didn’t even try to pretend he was a woman. So now there’s nothing at all stopping any man from being in women’s dressing areas. Good lord.” Another made a related point, arguing, “This is exactly why there are separate locker and bathrooms. To protect women.”
A third commenter took a more combative tone, writing, “This deserves a WWE top rope move for his sick [expletive].”
Under California law, secretly recording someone in a dressing room or another place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy is illegal. Depending on the circumstances, unauthorized recording can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
