NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 37-year-old man was arrested Thursday after he was accused of stalking multiple men across Nashville.
The first victim reported to officers he began receiving sexual text messages on Dec. 5, 2023 from various unknown phone numbers. According to court documents, he also received messages with photos of him in a state of undress inside a bathroom stall at his workplace on Athens Way in MetroCenter.
A second victim contacted Metro police on Feb. 21, 2024 to report he had began receiving harassing text messages from strange numbers. The person texting knew where he worked, what he drove and what he wore to work. This victim also received text messages of him in a bathroom at his work on Athens Way, according to Metro police.
On Feb. 26, 2024, another man reported to Metro police he was being harassed and stalked via text messages. This victim found a note on his car with a phone number asking to him to call since a credit card was found near his vehicle. After that, he reportedly began receiving sexual text messages, which included a photo of him in a bathroom where he worked in the Athens Way building.
Metro police then requested data from a service that generates random phone numbers for text messages in addition to internet providers and email servers to identify the suspect. He was interviewed and admitted to using the text service and loitering near Athens Way but denied any unlawful photography or stalking, according to court documents.
On June 3, 2024, a fourth victim told police he began receiving sexual messages from unknown numbers that included photos of him in the bathroom where he worked on West End Avenue. That same day, a fifth victim submitted an online report to Metro police of similar messages, again with a photo of him in the bathroom at his work on West End.
In many of the cases, the suspect told the victims he knew their numbers, names and home addresses.
Officers contacted security at the West End building and obtained surveillance footage that helped them identify the suspect, who was seen loitering outside bathroom facilities and following men inside, according to Metro police.
All the victim told Metro police they felt harassed and violated and did not ever consent to being photographed.
The suspect was booked into the Metro jail and charged with four misdemeanor charges of unlawful photography and four misdemeanor charges of stalking. He was released Thursday on a $20,000 bond.
