Written by: E. George
Published April 26, 2024 @ 8:30 PM ET
WAYNE COUNTY, Ga. – A 24-year-old Jesup man is facing one count of contempt of city court, and two felony counts of sexually explicit conduct of a minor after a Walmart employee reported that he was taking photographs and video with his cell phone of people in the next restroom stall on March 18, 2024. A witness told the Jesup Police officers that he saw the suspect hold his phone under the stall while he occupied it.
The employees explained that the man in black Crocs and dark sweatpants had been sitting inside the restroom stall for over an hour. An officer entered the adjacent stall to see if the suspect would place his phone underneath, but he did not.
The officer waited outside the restroom for the man to exit and confronted him. He asked Cershaun Micheal Parker to unlock his cell phone and looked through photographs but found nothing suspicious in the regular albums.
However, when he looked in the recently deleted albums, he discovered multiple videos captured from inside the stall, as well as many others from other times. The officers handcuffed Parker while they searched through his phone more thoroughly.
They found additional recently deleted videos spanning several weeks, some of which appeared to have been posted to a social media account. They investigated and identified the recently suspended X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
They seized Parker’s phone and transported him to the Wayne County Jail without incident. This case is pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 03/18/2024 at approximately 1910 I was standing by at Walmart with Cpl Dixon in reference to a shoplifting when the store’s Asset Protection Officer Tim Hutcheson stated that he needed me to make contact with associates at the rear fire exit in regards to an individual in the male bathroom taking photos with his phone of individuals inside the stall next to his. I then went to the rear Fire exit where I made contact with [REDACTED] who advised me an individual in black crocs was sitting inside the stall and she received complaints from multiple associates stating he had been in there for well over an hour or more. She stated she also had an associate report he put his phone under the stall and appeared to be taking photos or video.
I also made contact with [WITNESS #1] an associate with Walmart who stated he entered the restroom at approximately 1815-1820 hours and while in the stall using the restroom he saw the black male with black crocs and dark sweat pants with white on them stick a phone under the stall and appeared to be taking photos or videos of him. He went back in the restroom at 1915 hours and the individual was still there.
I went into the bathroom after speaking with [REDACTED] and saw the individual and entered the stall to see if he would put the phone in a position where I could see it. He did not.
I then decided to wait outside the restroom for the individual to exit and made contact with him when he did. The subject later identified as Cershaun Parker had his phone in his hand. I advised him to set his phone down and talk to me at which time I informed him of the allegations and asked if he would let me look at the photos in his phone to see if he had any photos that were like the ones he was accused of taking. He stated he would let me look through his phone.
I then asked him to hold his phone and asked him to unlock it which he did. He pulled the photos up and handed me the phone. I didn’t see anything in his regular album and then went to the recently deleted album where I saw videos that were taken during the time he was inside the stall as well as many others from other times. I then placed him into double locked handcuffs and asked him if I still had consent to search his phone he stated I did at which time myself and LT Harrison had him fill out a consent to search form. I then looked and saw that there were multiple recently deleted videos that spanned over a period of a few weeks and saw that he possibly had videos that were posted to a social media account called [REDACTED] which when looked up turned out to be a X formerly known as Twitter account that had been recently suspended.
I then contacted Investigator Rhett Burford and advised him of the situation. He advised me to seize the phone and other electronic devices on his person so that he could obtain a search warrant for them and do a download of all data to collect any evidence in regards to the crimes.
Parker was then seated in the rear of a patrol car and transported to Wayne County Jail without incident where he was placed on a hold for warrants pending the search of the phone and electronic devices.
[End of Narrative]