A state attorney is being investigated after police say he videotaped a woman partially nude at a local tanning booth.
The victim was applying lotion to her legs at TanUSA on 6783 W. Newberry Road when she noticed a cell phone being held over the wall from the next room. The man with the phone was later identified as William Richard Ezzell of the Eighth Circuit State Attorney’s Office, according to an incident report.
As the 51-year-old continued, she looked up and saw the phone again. This time, she noticed a light was illuminated, and thought she was being recorded.
The victim then yelled for Elizabeth Depatie, an employee at TanUSA.
“F****** peeping Tom,” she yelled at Ezzell.
From inside his tanning booth, Ezzell calmly replied, “I don’t know why you would say that.”
The victim then put her clothes on, walked to the front desk and sat down. After the victim said she would call the police, Ezzell left the area. According to the report, he was wearing a white dress shirt, a tie and slacks.
Depatie pulled up Ezzell’s registration form and told police she saw a badge in his wallet. Gainesville Police used her information to confirm his identity.
GPD investigators issued a sworn complaint against Ezzell. They recommended charges of video voyeurism, a third-degree felony.
Because of a conflict of interest, the complaint was filed directly with Fifth Circuit State Attorney Brad King.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/11/2014 under the headline "Local state attorney under investigation for voyeurism"]
