Trevor Nielsen Sentenced For Hiding Camera In Forever 21 Changing Room
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Elk River man was sentenced to 90 days in jail Monday after pleading guilty to secretly recording girls and women in a changing room at a store at the Mall of America, among other locations.
Trevor Nielsen pleaded guilty to one count of felony interference with a minor, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. He received a three-year stay of imposition, meaning a prison sentence will not be imposed and his conviction will be downgraded to a misdemeanor as long as he abides by the terms of his probation.
Nielsen also must attend sex offender treatment, the attorney's office said.
The charge stemmed from a September 2019 incident in which a manager at Forever 21 in the Mall of America called police to report someone putting cameras in their changing rooms.
The manager said she reported a similar incident in July, and believed the same man was in the store's fitting rooms.
Officers detained Nielsen when he exited a fitting room, and the manager identified as the same man from the July incident. Police found Nielsen's cell phone and a roll of double-sided black tape while searching him.
Employees found a camera hidden in a fitting room next to the one Nielsen was occupying.
According to the complaint, Nielsen admitted to hiding the camera, and said it wasn't the first time he'd done it.
Authorities got a warrant for Nielsen's phone and searched it, finding videos from both admitted incidents. Additionally, they found videos of students at Elk River High School and girls at local swimming pools and parks.
Some videos were taken from a camera attached to Nielsen's shoe. The complaint states Nielsen accidentally recorded himself in a mirror in one of those videos.
