NJ Bookstore Bathroom Nightmare: Teen Filmed In Stall, Mom Says

CLIFTON – A New Jersey teen's recent routine visit to a bookstore turned into a horrible nightmare when someone filmed her while she was inside a bathroom stall, according to prosecutors.

Juan Mejia, 44, of Paterson was arrested on Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Clifton after he secretly videotaped two separate women who were using the bathroom stalls, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office.

Barnes & Noble issued a statement, saying the company was "disturbed" to learn of the incident. Store employees immediately notified police when they were alerted to the situation, and the suspect was apprehended soon after, the company said.

"We thank the police for their quick work, and we will continue to cooperate fully as they investigate," the company said. "We take security very seriously and are as vigilant as possible in making our stores safe and inviting for customers.”

The Secaucus teen's mother, Heather Delaney, wrote on Facebook that the day "was supposed to be a fun" one that involved shopping with her own mom and her daughter.

"Instead it turned out to be a mom’s worst nightmare," Delaney said.

The incident happened when her teen daughter said she had to use the bathroom. So, Delaney said, she went upstairs to help her own mother find a book.

Shortly after getting upstairs, Delaney said, her phone "started going off like crazy."

It was her daughter "texting me that someone in the stall next to her was filming her with a GoPro, that she was scared, and to please find someone and help her," Delaney wrote.

Delaney immediately ran down the stairs and alerted a group of four employees at the kiosk, and then ran to get to the bathroom.

When she entered the bathroom, Delaney said, she called out her daughter's name and told her to come out. Delaney then looked under the stall next to her.

"It looked empty," she said. "However, I looked down at the floor and saw a shadow of someone perched on top of the toilet."

Delaney said she put her daughter behind her, and then a female employee began banging on the door. Finally, the neighboring stall's door opened and the suspect stepped into view.

"My heart sank as I saw a middle-aged ... man exit the stall," Delaney said. "I started to cry."

The other employees had already called police and they arrived very quickly, Delaney said. They arrested the man and took him out in handcuffs, she said.

Mejia, who was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of children and two counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, was found to be in possession of video images of suspected child pornography, according to the PCPO.

The state has filed a motion for the pretrial detention of Mejia, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. before state Superior Court Judge Donna Gallucio.

Mejia was lodged at the Passaic County jail pending the pretrial detention hearing.

Delaney said she was sharing this story for two reasons.

"One, because (her daughter) looked under the stalls before picking one to use and it looked as if she were alone in the bathroom," she said. "Luckily, because she thought she was alone when she heard something, it made her look around, which is when she saw the camera under the stall."

"Two, because she did all the right things; she didn’t panic, she sent me a text immediately to get help (so) as not to alert the man that she knew was there and knew what he was doing."

Delaney said her teen daughter is OK, and that she did all the right things and that her "calmness and quick thinking not only solidified that she is ready to leave the nest, but it made me admire her more than I already did."

The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office asks anyone with additional information about this incident to contact the tips line at 1-877-370-PCPO or tips@passaiccountynj.org, or contact the Clifton Police Department at 973-470-5900.