Woman to sue after H&M employee admits to recording her in dressing room
PLAINFIELD, Ind. — A woman is planning to sue H&M and an employee at an Indiana store after the man allegedly recorded her while she was naked in the dressing room.
The 20-year-old male employee at the Plainfield location is charged with voyeurism after court documents say he admitted to police that he used his iPhone to make the video in August.
"You think that you go to a fitting room, that you’re safe and secure, and you’re not,” said customer Tabatha Dunagan.
Just before closing on August 24, she was in the women's changing room trying on a few bathing suits when she noticed she wasn’t alone.
"I had gone in there, and I was facing the mirror, and I was completely naked," Dunagan said while wiping away tears. "I saw in the mirror behind me that there was a red iPhone underneath the door, and it shocked me."
As Dunagan rushed to put her clothes back on, she looked out and saw a male employee walking away.
"I haven't been shopping since ... because it’s hard," said Dunagan, visibly shaken. "It’s hard to leave my own house, it’s hard to go to my job, it’s hard to address people, it’s hard to talk to people. It’s been terrible."
The employee was identified as 20-year-old Brian Stewart of Plainfield. He’s been charged with voyeurism, a level 6 felony. Court documents say he admitted to recording a video of Dunagan that lasted about 8 seconds. When police looked for that video on his phone, he told them he deleted it. Documents say Stewart also told police he knew what he was doing was wrong.
Dunagan says the manager told her not to call 911.
She is now working on a lawsuit against both Stewart and H&M.
"She tried to defend him and went up there and talked to him, and I was like, 'While you go up there and talk to him, I'm going to call the cops,'" Dunagan recalled. "She said 'Just wait, don’t call the cops.'”
As Dunagan awaits Stewart’s day in court, she said she is also waiting for the day she can once again feel safe.
"I just hope that he gets everything he deserves," Dunagan said. "I mean, to make someone feel unsafe every day of their life, to make them doubt everything that they do, it’s awful.”
A spokesperson for H&M said Stewart is no longer an employee and gave this statement:
"We can confirm that the employee in question no longer works for H&M. Given this remains an active investigation we cannot comment any further."