A Lamar University student is facing a felony charge after a staff member accused him of holding a cellphone over a restroom stall door and recording him inside the LIT Technology Building in Beaumont. Corey Taylor, 18, was arrested at 5:20 p.m. on Monday after the staff member identified him from security footage; officers later used Taylor's class schedule to locate him.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the staff member reported that someone was recording him while he used the restroom and later told officers he felt violated and wanted to press charges, as reported by 12News Now. The staff member said he saw a cellphone held over the stall door recording him, confronted Taylor, and Taylor ran from the restroom before the confrontation could go any further.
Campus Cameras Place Taylor at the Scene
Lamar University Police Department Cpl. Chad Stegall was dispatched to 855 E. Lavaca St. at about 10:44 a.m. that same day to investigate the report. Security cameras on campus allegedly showed Taylor entering the restroom ahead of the staff member and leaving just before him, footage the station's report says helped the victim identify Taylor as the person he'd confronted.
From there, investigators turned to Taylor's own schedule to track him down. Stegall found Taylor's class schedule and used it to locate and arrest him later that afternoon, per the same account.
Charge Carries Felony-Level Statute
Booking records show Taylor was charged with invasive visual recording in a bathroom or dressing room. The probable cause affidavit cites Texas Penal Code §21.15(c), which classifies the offense as a state jail felony; the recording offenses are defined in subsection (b), according to the Texas Constitution and Statutes.
The affidavit in the case was collected from Magistrate Marc Derouen, the article notes. The evidence reviewed does not indicate Taylor's bond amount, whether he has retained an attorney, or how the case has proceeded since his arrest.
