GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah, April 27, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police arrested a man for allegedly recording a woman in a public shower in Bryce Canyon National Park who caught him in the act, then chased him.
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a man recording females as they showered in the womens’ facility at the park, using his cell phone, according to charging documents for William Hamilton Watkins VII, of Arizona.
The female victim, according to a probable cause affidavit for the Tuesday incident, said she had finished showering in stall #5 and as she leaned over to dry her hair, she saw an individual holding a cell phone with the camera lens facing up towards under a shower curtain.
“The female victim stated that she was completely naked at that time.” She then screamed at the suspect “Are you recording me?” and tried to grab the phone, but the suspect, later identified as Watkins, pulled away, according to the affidavit. “Then she came out of shower stall #5 and around to shower stall #4 to stop William from leaving.
“The victim put William in a hold and was screaming for help; several female bystanders in the womens’ facility ran out to contact law enforcement to get help.
“As the victim tried to keep William from getting away, William fought to get away.”
He was eventually successful, and fled the women’s facility. He was later apprehended and detained by the victim’s boyfriend, according to the charging documents. After Miranda warning, he agreed to talk to a Garfield County Sheriff’s deputy, saying he had been recording in the female showers, but had deleted the footage.
He then agreed to let the deputy check his cell phone. “As I was going through the photo albums, there were multiple pictures of William hiding in female shower facilities, videoing other females as they got into the shower. William was transferred to the Garfield County jail to be booked in.”
He faces misdemeanor charges of tampering with evidence, disorderly conduct, assault and “voyeurism by electronic equipment concealed or disguised.” Bail was set at $2,500.
