GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Gwinnett County man already on Georgia’s sex offender registry is now charged with peeping after police say he followed a woman into a gas station restroom and looked over her stall while she changed clothes.
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Gwinnett County police say the woman was in the large stall at a QT on Buford Drive near Buford on May 25 when she saw a man’s face appear over the door. She yelled, and he hurried out.
“A male had followed her into the restroom and actually peered over the bathroom stalls while she was actively changing clothes,” said MPO Brock Marks with Gwinnett County police.
The woman flagged down an officer outside the store. The suspect was already gone, so investigators pulled the QT’s surveillance video. Police say it showed the man trail the woman through the restroom door and leave seconds behind her.
“They’re going to make sure they make contact with the victim, get their side of the story,” Marks said. “And if they can also get some footage, that’s the one thing that cannot be thrown out.”
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Police reached the man by phone, according to the report. He said he was there to help his girlfriend in the restroom. But investigators wrote that the woman he peered at over the stall wasn’t his girlfriend at all, and that his girlfriend could have simply opened the door herself.
Officers identified him as Eugene Pauldo and secured a warrant. He was booked into jail June 9 and now faces a felony Peeping Tom charge, a probation violation, and drug charges.
“Always be vigilant of your surroundings,” Marks said. “If you can take someone with you, shopping in pairs is always a great way to feel more comfortable.”
For some shoppers, the case confirmed a worry they already carry.
“It’s not surprising, actually,” shopper Amaya Keys said. “The world has really changed a lot.”
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