WATCH ABOVE: A young man claims that he was grossly violated in the Sears bathroom at the Fairview Pointe-Claire after a man allegedly took photos of him in a stall. Rachel Lau looks into the story.
MONTREAL — When Matthew Tod wandered through the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping mall on the way home from his grandmother’s house, he didn’t think making a quick stop at the Sears bathroom would become such a terrifying experience.
“I didn’t know what to do.”
Tod never expected what happened next.
READ MORE: Fairview Pointe-Claire mall bathroom hotspot for sexual encounters
“From my stall, he went into the next stall and put his hand over and that’s when he took a picture with his phone,” he said.
Feeling scared and threatened, the 17-year-old says he quickly sought out store security.
“His answer to me was ‘don’t call the police, we’ll deal with it, there’s no point to call the police,'” said Tod.
“When I told him that I wanted to call the police he said ‘well, that’s the dumbest thing on earth to do.'”
Global News spoke to the security at Sears.
However, we were told that their protocol is not public information and they denied our request for an interview.
Tod said he couldn’t understand how something like this could happen, until he saw some suspicious writing on the bathroom walls.
“It was really hard to see, you can’t see unless you really pay attention,” he said.
“There was solicitation writing on the wall and I figure that something could maybe be going on in that bathroom.”
Tod’s discovery prompted him to file a police report, even though he said Sears security had told him not to.
“Police officers received a call from a 911 concerning a suspicious behaviour,” said Manuel Couture, a spokesperson for the Montreal police.
“The investigators are well aware of all the facts and they’re working on this event.”
Since Sears has its own security service, the Fairview mall said it has no power over what happens inside the department store.
“I don’t accept that,” shopper Pilar Espaillat told Global News.
“I have a 17-year-old boy, so that’s scary to hear that.”
“The fact that that’s happening is a little weird,” agreed Patrick Kloskowski, another shopper.
Police are reviewing security footage from the store and told Global News that they’re looking for a suspect.
As for Tod, he said he believes that something needs to be done fast to keep mall-goers safe.
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