A mother shopping for clothes for her two young daughters says something felt wrong when another customer got unusually close to her and she felt something brush the back of her leg.
Instead of confronting him, she quietly put her phone in her shopping cart and started recording.
The video, shared by Inside Edition, appears to show why her instincts were bothering her. The man can be seen browsing behind her before repeatedly positioning his phone near her skirt. Police later arrested 66-year-old James Curtis Kofi and charged him with voyeurism, according to the report.
“It was violating. It was shocking,” the woman, identified in the report as Allison, said.
She Put Her Phone in the Shopping Cart
The video below contains footage of the encounter.
Allison said she never actually saw the man directly behind her. She simply knew something did not feel right.
“I had chills all over my body,” she told Inside Edition.
Rather than immediately alerting the man that she was suspicious, Allison propped her phone inside her shopping cart and let it record while she continued shopping.
“I really just wanted to document and see if there was anything going on,” she said.
Her camera captured the man standing behind her while appearing to browse merchandise. At several points, he lowers one hand holding a phone toward the area beneath her skirt while looking elsewhere.
Inside Edition counted seven instances in the recording.
That detail helps explain why Allison did not immediately realize what was happening. When she turned around, she said, the man appeared to be doing exactly what any other customer in the store might be doing.
“Every single time I turned around, he was browsing as well,” she said.
After reviewing what her phone had captured, Allison called 911.
Police Found the Suspect After He Left the Store
The man left before officers arrived. Allison followed him for a time but eventually lost sight of him, according to Inside Edition.
Once the police arrived, she helped direct officers toward where he had gone. The report says officers eventually found the man hiding in a bathroom at a nearby restaurant.
Police identified him as 66-year-old James Curtis Kofi and charged him with voyeurism. Inside Edition reported that Kofi has since been released on bond.
The report did not provide additional details about the bond conditions, and the court record was not immediately available for independent review.
That last development drew considerable attention from viewers. One of the most-liked comments beneath the video simply asked why Kofi had been granted bond.
Being released on bond does not mean a defendant has been cleared of a charge. Bail generally allows a defendant to remain out of custody while a criminal case proceeds, often subject to conditions imposed by a court. The precise rules, eligibility requirements, and conditions vary by jurisdiction and the circumstances of the case.
She Says the Experience Changed How She Thinks About Shopping
Other viewers wondered whether the suspect’s phone or other devices could contain additional images. Inside Edition’s report did not say whether police searched any devices or whether investigators believe there may be other victims, so there is no basis at this point to assume either.
For Allison, the encounter was startling in part because of where it happened. She was shopping for her children in the middle of the day.
“I honestly had no idea that something like that could happen in broad daylight at a children’s store,” she said.
Her advice afterward was simple.
“You need to be very, very aware of your surroundings and to trust your gut,” Allison said. “Something feels wrong, it’s okay to act on that.”
In this case, that uneasy feeling prompted her to start recording before she knew exactly what she was looking for. The resulting video became evidence she could show police instead of leaving her to explain an encounter she had barely been able to see herself.
Kofi has been charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.