Cape man accused of peeping at tanning salon patron

A Cape Girardeau man accused of peeking at the patron of a tanning salon through a hole in the wall was charged Monday with invasion of privacy.

Bradley T. Isaac, 33, of 2300 Jane Drive, was issued a summons to appear in court on July 3 for arraignment, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said.

Isaac is accused of peeking through a hole in the wall between Tans-R-Us, 91 S. Plaza Way, and Hibbett Sport, 2136 William St., on April 19 while a female patron of the tanning salon was undressing. The hole he used, Swingle said, seems to have been created when a shelf was removed.

"It did not look like it was intentionally bored for the purpose of looking," Swingle said.

Isaac faces a class A misdemeanor. Invasion of privacy is a felony when a pattern can be established showing there is an ongoing course of conduct, he said.

Isaac was discovered when the victim in the case was finished undressing and looked up and saw an eye pressed against the hole in the wall. She contacted an employee of Tans-R-Us, who went to Hibbett Sport and questioned Isaac.

The employee of Tans-R-Us, Whitney Blattner, told police Isaac said he was doing inventory in the room where the holes made a connection to the tanning salon.

In an interview with police officers April 26, Isaac admitted being the only employee in the room. It is possible the victim may have seen him as he worked, he told Det. Rodney Edwards, but he said he did not intentionally look through the hole.

The case took several weeks to bring charges, Swingle said, because police did a thorough investigation, speaking to everyone at Hibbett.

"It just took a while to put it all together," Swingle said. "It was submitted to my office some time ago and there were just a combination of reasons why it wasn't filed until today."

Isaac was not arrested because prosecutors determined he was not likely to flee, Swingle said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126