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HIGHLAND — The owner of Rad Swim in Highland is warning Utah families after she says a man exposed himself to her associate and several young girls in her store Monday evening.
"I'm honestly devastated and heartbroken, I feel so bad for these girls," said Michelle Shumway, owner and designer of Rad Swim.
The man, who also visited the store in November, according to the employee working Monday night, entered the store shortly after 4:00 p.m. dressed in black wearing a black baseball cap and black mask. Security video from inside the store showed him picking out several swimsuits and heading to the changing rooms.
"I think he knew exactly what he was doing," Shumway said. "The fact that he came in with his face hidden with a mask and hat and had his laptop hidden tells me he was prepared to do this."
For about 45 minutes, Shumway said the man, who got fully naked, continued asking the young store associate to bring him swimsuits. When she asked him to close his curtain, Shumway said he refused.
"And she said if you can't close them you need to use the bathroom and he refused to close them," Shumway said.
Mary Dowell was visiting the store with her 9-year-old daughter when she saw the man.
"I noticed his curtain was open and he was completely nude, and I could see him in the mirror, and then he also had a laptop on the ground and I could see him nude on the laptop," Dowell said.
Dowell believes the man was recording himself and the reaction of the young girls as he exposed himself to them.
"I immediately addressed him and said 'You are disgusting; you need to shut your curtain, you need to turn your laptop off,' and he kind of came back at me and I shut the curtain on him," Dowell said.
Dowell called 911 and tended to the 18-year-old employee at the store as the man took off in a white BMW with a covered license plate. She recorded the vehicle as it drove away.
"The associate was scared and immediately started crying, she said, 'I have Mace in my pocket I'm so scared, thank you so much for saying something,'" Dowell said.
The Lone Peak Police Department responded to the store Monday, and confirmed it isinvestigating the incident as a possible case of lewdness or voyeurism. It is now trying to track down the man in the security video to determine if he recorded himself or any of the girls.
"My fear is that he is still out there, and we don't know where he is going next," Shumway said. "I just want to find him to prevent this from happening again."
Shumway said what happened Monday night weighs heavy on her heart because her family has dedicated years to making Rad Swim a safe family-friendly space for young girls to shop for swimwear. She hopes by sharing their experience they'll protect others in the community.
"Our motto is you are beautiful, you are loved, and I really just want all customers that come in to feel that," Shumway said. "And the fact that he was doing something to hurt these young girls is so upsetting to me, no one should have to have this happen to them."
