Are we seeing more of this type of horrific behavior these days, or was it always out there but the press didn’t pay as much attention to it? The subject is once again the periodic arrests of perverse pedophiles who violate the privacy of women and young girls in public spaces and even in their homes. The alleged cretin in today’s story allegedly managed to pull off both types of activity over a lengthy period of time before finally being apprehended. Jacob M. Guerrero of Woonsocket, Rhode Island was arrested on Tuesday for activities he allegedly undertook in the women’s restrooms at a mall in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Guerrero was seen (and photographed) by the mother of a young girl who became suspicious when she saw him dressed in a dress and a wig and hanging around outside the ladies’ room at the mall, following a group of girls inside.

Guerrero was later arrested, thanks to the mother’s bit of detective work and call to the police. He was found to have used a “pen camera” embedded in the laces of his shoe to take pictures and videos of 12 females, including five minor children, inside of the bathroom stalls. But as the investigation looked deeper and the evidence on his digital devices was exposed, it turns out that he had been pulling this disgusting “trick” for quite a while in places across the country. And since he worked as an Amazon delivery driver, he had plenty of opportunities to get around. (Sun-Chronicle)

A 23-year-old Rhode Island man was ordered held on $25,000 cash bail Tuesday, accused of secretly videotaping five young girls in a bathroom at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.

Authorities also suspect Jacob M. Guerrero of Woonsocket, an Amazon delivery driver, of taking a video of a 10- or 11-year-old girl in Norfolk who was changing into her pajamas in her bedroom. Guerrero was allegedly outside the home, which may have been on his delivery route, authorities said.

At the Wrentham mall, Guerrero allegedly dressed up in a blonde or red-haired wig and dress and wore a pen camera attached to the laces of his sneakers to take videos in a bathroom.

As I already mentioned, Guerrero was reportedly quite active. Records indicate he had visited the mall in this fashion at least a dozen times between June and August, usually after finishing his delivery route. He also had similar photos and videos of women and girls “known to him” from a visit to his family’s home in California and from another trip to New Jersey. In all, he had more than 200 videos and nearly two dozen photos stored on his devices, many of children who were undressed.

Why was this guy at the mall wearing a dress and a wig? Is he trans or at least pretending to be trans? Or was it just a really bad attempt at a disguise so he could move into the women’s restrooms and changing rooms without being challenged? Not for nothing, but this is yet another reminder of why it is not “transphobic” to object to “people with penises” using the wrong-gender bathrooms, changing rooms, and showers or locker rooms.

The technology this pervert was using is troubling as well. I hadn’t even been aware of the availability of cheap “pen cameras” until I read this story. Here’s a link to one that you can buy at Amazon for as little as $25. The films and videos it records can be uploaded from an SD card to your phone or computer. They even label it as a “spy camera.” Is there really any legitimate use for this technology? Of course, I would think that someone would find it suspicious that you would have a pen woven into your sneaker laces as Guerrero did.

Returning to the initial question I asked above, I suppose this sort of crime has been with us for a long time. There have traditionally been stories of men going around with mirrors on their shoes for no decent purpose. But this sort of crime may still be growing far more common simply because of the increased availability of this sort of technology. There might be pedophiles out there with dark impulses to try something like this but they didn’t have the nerve or the opportunity until these devices came along.

If any good comes of this little horror story, perhaps Mr. Guerrero can serve as an object lesson and a warning to others. He’s been charged with photographing intimate parts of a child and exhibiting a child in the nude. If convicted he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and could wind up doing considerably more. If any of you live in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, or New Jersey and know anything more about this case, the police have set up a hotline to call Wrentham police Detective Robert O’Connell at 508-384-2121.