Peeping Tom suspect facing additional charges after police discover videos on his phone
May 21—The suspect in an April 22 peeping Tom incident is facing additional charges after police discovered numerous videos of women on his cellphone.
Aron Vincent Salmeri, 41, was originally charged with one count of peeping Tom. He is now also charged with three counts of voyeurism and second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Incident at Academy Sports
On April 15, officers with the Aiken Department of Public Safety responded to a past tense peeping Tom incident at the Academy Sports and Outdoors on Fabian Drive.
The victim told police she was at the store around 8:30 p.m. on April 14, when an unknown white male took photos of her from beneath the stall in the women's restroom, according to an incident report obtained from the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
When the victim realized the suspect was taking photos of her, she told police she left the restroom immediately, according to the report.
Store managers provided officers with video footage of an individual matching the suspect's description entering the store shortly before the incident, enter the women's restroom at 8:36 p.m. and leave shortly after, according to the report.
On April 22, police issued an arrest warrant for the suspect and a search warrant for his vehicle. Salmeri was located at the Cook Out on Whiskey Road and arrested in connection to the April 14 incident.
The search warrant was served and "evidence was removed from the vehicle that matches Salmeri to the video at the crime scene," according to the report.
Police discover numerous videos
While investigating the peeping Tom incident at Academy Sports, police searched the suspect's cellphone.
During the search, investigators found "data where the suspect (Salmeri) videotaped multiple women inside of the bathroom stalls in the past three months," according to a May 18 incident report obtained from the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
Investigators made contact with several of the victims and they wished to press charges, according to the report.
Criminal history
Salmeri is a registered sex offender, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. He was added to the list following an indecent exposure in California in 2007.
On Nov. 15, 2019, Salmeri was charged with peeping Tom and indecent exposure in connection to an incident at an Aiken Walmart.
Police responded to the Walmart on Richland Avenue at 3:22 a.m. in reference to a naked white male in the women's restroom, according to an incident report by the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
A victim told deputies she was about to use the restroom when the suspect opened her locked stall door and then stood in front of her while he was completely naked, according to a previous Aiken Standard article. The victim was able to escape and call for help.
Salmeri was charged on Nov. 22 and taken to the Aiken County detention center.
