The Target department store chain has made itself infamous for announcing that it will allow transgender people to choose whatever bathroom they want to use at any given time, even though the chain already has many problems with sexual assaults in its stores.
Here are the top twenty sex crime reports from Target’s stores across the nation.
Man Accused of Exposing Himself to 9-Year-Old in Target
04/2016 – Police have arrested a man accused of exposing himself to a 9-year-old boy in the bathroom of a Target store in Cedar Park in February. Roel Anthony Vasquez, 27, was charged March 24 with indecency with a child by exposure. No one at the store could identify who he was when the incident occurred, so police asked for help from the public by releasing pictures of the suspect from store surveillance video in March.
Man Charged for Stalking Woman at Target
04/2016 – MIDWEST CITY, Okla. – The District Attorney in Oklahoma County has filed a misdemeanor charge against a man accused of stalking women at a metro Target store. Cody Stephens, 21, lives in Midwest City, not too far from the Target store where he is accused of stalking women.
Police Hunting Man Who Allegedly Masturbated on 16-Year-Old at Target
10/2015 – SOUTH BEND – South Bend police are looking for a man who performed a sexual act Monday afternoon at a Target department store at 1400 E. Ireland Road, according to our news partner ABC57. A 16-year-old girl was shopping at the department store when a man approached her from behind and performed a sexual act on himself at about 2 p.m., police said. The man got away, and police are still looking for him.
Man Seeking Date, Gropes Woman at Target Store
11/2015 – San Diego police are searching for a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the aisle of a Target store in San Diego, pestering her for a date before reaching under her clothing to grope her. The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) says the incident – being investigated as a case of sexual battery – happened around 9 p.m. on Halloween at a Target located at 5680 Balboa Ave.
Man Arrested for Groping and Sexually Assaulting Women in Target
10/2015 – A Jefferson man arrested on Friday after police said he followed and then touched a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl in separate incidents could face “multiple” child sexual assault charges, a prosecutor said in court Tuesday.
Benjamin J. Cooper, 38, was jailed on $5,000 bail after appearing in court. Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Hilton said charges against Cooper are expected to be filed Wednesday.
Police Arrest Ventura Man in Connection with Sexual Battery Incident Inside Target
10/2015 – A 46-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection with a sexual battery incident, including allegedly grabbing an employee’s buttocks, inside a Target store in Ventura, police said.
Aaron Carter, of Ventura, was reportedly making sexual comments and gestures to several female patrons around 9:33 a.m. inside of a Target store, located on the 4000 block of East Main Street, according to the Ventura Police Department.
Man Sexually Assaulted and Tried to Kidnap Boy at Target
09/2015 – ROCKAWAY – A borough man has been accused of sexually assaulting a five-year-old boy and trying to kidnap another in the past two weeks.
Kyriakos Serghides, 34, of Rockaway, was charged on Friday with second-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree luring, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree terroristic threats, fourth-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp and acting Rockaway Township police Chief Martin McParland, Jr. said in a joint news release. …
[The] boy told police on Thursday he was at the Target in Rockaway Township when Serghides approached him, Knapp and McParland said in the news release. Serghides threatened to cut the boy if he didn’t go with him, they said.
Police Investigating Sexual Assault of 11-Year-Old Girl at Target
07/2015 – St. Louis City Police confirmed that they are investigating the sexual assault of a 13-year-old female inside the Target store on Hampton Avenue in south St. Louis Monday night. Police say the suspect walked past the victim, squeezed her buttocks, then walked away. The girl told a relative and police were called.
Man Confesses to Hiding Camera in Target Store Bathroom
07/2015 – FRESNO, Calif. – Authorities in Hanford say a man has confessed to placing a hidden camera inside a restroom of a local Target store. The suspect was identified as Eugenio Rodriguez, 32, of Hanford.
Hanford police responded to the store on North 12th Avenue on Wednesday after an employee found the camera in the family restroom. They say the camera was concealed with toilet tissue and had a red light illuminating before the employee turned it off. Officers say the camera didn’t record anything but it did stream live video.
Man High on PCP Assaults Women at Glen Burnie Target, Police Say
03/2016 – Frank Eugene Pratt, 39, is charged with attempted robbery, second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and drug possession after the incident at Target at 7951 Nolpark Road, police said.
Police responded to the store at about 2 p.m. Saturday on a report that a man had smoked PCP in the store’s restroom, then approached several female victims and assaulted them.
Man Arrested in Target on Burglary, Sexual Assault Charges
12/2014 – SACRAMENTO – A man was arrested outside of a local Target on Wednesday.
According to the Sacramento Police Department, officers rushed to the Target on 65th Street around 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
‘Peeping Tom’ Took Pics of People in Target Bathroom
11/2014 – ANDERSON, SC – A Six Mile man accused of taking pictures and video of people using the restroom at Target has been arrested, according to Anderson police.
According to the incident report, police were called to the store on Thursday where one victim said the suspect had a cellphone positioned under the stall to capture video of men at the urinals.
Police Tip Leads to Man Wanted for Touching Young Girls at Target
10/2014 – SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – San Leandro police say they have a person in custody for allegedly assaulting two young girls inside two different stores on Monday night.
Police credit surveillance pictures, television news and social media for helping them crack this case so quickly.
Police Looking for Man Who Kissed Child in Target
10/2014 – The Orlando Police Department needs the public’s help locating a man who allegedly kissed a child inside an Orange County Target store.
Police said the incident happened around 10:22 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Target in the 4700 block of Millenia Plaza Way.
Cleves Man Arrested for Voyeurism After Looking at Young Boy in Target Restroom
09/2014 – CINCINNATI, OH – A Cleves man is facing voyeurism charges after an alleged incident inside a west side Target store.
According to Hamilton County court documents, Mark Klapper, 36, was arrested for looking at a 4-year-old boy’s private parts in a Target bathroom Saturday.
Suspect Accused of Sexually Assaulting Girl at Sandy Target Turns Self In
08/2014 – Sandy authorities have arrested the suspect accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a Target store in Sandy.
Sandy Sgt. Dean Carriger said 47-year-old James Scot Fullmer was arrested Wednesday.
Man Arrested for Molesting Boy at Target Store
07/2013 – PINOLE, Calif. – A 32-year-old man is under arrest, accused of molesting a 9-year-old boy and taking video of his feet.
Gregory Paul Houchins is being held on $5.1 million bail at the West Contra Costa County detention facility.
Police say he met the child in the video game section of the Pinole Target store two weeks ago. He forced the child to touch his private parts and took him to bathroom where the child got away and ran to his parents.
Sexual Assault Suspect Arrested at Folsom Target Store
10/2012 – FOLSOM, Calif. (KCRA) – A jogger and Target security officers helped Folsom police track down and arrest a man wanted in connection with sexual battery and an attempted rape Saturday.
Police arrested Timothy Ortiz, 25, at the Target store on Blue Ravine Road after security officers reported he was following women in the store and masturbating.
Man Arrested for Taking Photos of Woman in Target Bathroom
07/2009 – ATHENS, Ga. – Athens-Clarke County police have arrested a 26-year-old man for being a peeping Tom in the women’s room at a Target.
Police say Luis Mesqueda Hernandez was caught on security cameras sneaking into the women’s bathroom at the store Sunday afternoon and using his cell phone to take photos of a woman. The store’s security officers detained Hernandez until police arrived.
Suspect Arrested in Target Sexual Assault of a 11-Year-Old Girl
7/2003 – SOUTH CHARLESTON, West Virginia – A Kentucky man has been charged with the sexual assault of an 11- year-old girl at a Target store.
Surveillance camera images of the suspect leading the girl through the store have been broadcast nationally.
Allen D. Coates, 37, of Irvington, Kentucky, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the downtown area of Louisville, where he is being held at the Metro Corrections Facility. The arrest followed a “very detailed, very thorough” out-of-state tip, according to South Charleston Police Chief D.W. Dunlap.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com