A man is being sought after he allegedly tried to spy on a Massachusetts community college professor while she was in a women's bathroom.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., Cheryl McCormick, an adjunct professor of law at North Shore Community College, noticed a man lying down and looking up at her in the next stall over in the second floor bathroom of the Lynn McGee building.
"Just as I sat down, I heard a noise coming from one of the stalls, so I just bent way down and looked to my left," McCormick said.
She realized she wasn't alone.
"I saw a young man on his back looking up an angle," she recounted. "He was sliding his way to look up, he was on his back and we made eye contact."
McCormick reacted quickly.
"I looked over and immediately jumped up," she said. "Pulled my pants up real quick, I went over to the handicapped stall and said, 'You know you're in the ladies room.' I said it a lot louder with some choice words."
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She left the bathroom, yelled for campus security and recorded footage of the suspect as he tried to leave.
Officers heard the woman's cry for help and tried to apprehend the suspect, but were unsuccessful. But he left something behind.
"The police officer intercepted him, and there was a bit of a tussle. That's how we got his backpack, that's how he got away and ran off," said college president Patricia Gentile.
"Kind of creepy," Gentile said of the incident.
McCormick said she's grateful it did not happen to a student.
"I have thick skin," she said. "I can fight my own battles and I will get past this."
The suspect is not a student at the school, but because he dropped his bag, with identification inside, campus police have a good idea who they're looking for.
Anyone with information is asked to call 781-477-2100. If you see the suspect, police stress that he should not be approached.
