Man Allegedly Spies on Girl in Cracker Barrel Bathroom, Angry Dads Cut His Escape Short
A convicted sex offender is accused of spying on at least one underage girl in a restaurant bathroom — an accusation that led to him being left bloody and dazed in a parking lot shortly before being arrested.
The confrontation began inside of a Cracker Barrel in Duncan, South Carolina, on Sept. 20.
Police said a 15-year-old girl alerted her father that a man had spied on her in the women’s bathroom, WSPA-TV reported.
The girl said she first saw movement at her feet before realizing it was an adult male’s head coming from the next stall over.
Witnesses said the 15-year-old was not the only girl in the bathroom at the time.
“I’ll never forget the way they looked after,” a witness told WSPA. “They were traumatized.”
A female employee checked the bathroom after being informed of the situation by the worried father and flushed out the man, later identified as 53-year-old Douglas Lane, according to Duncan Police Department Chief Carl Long
Lane, a registered sex offender, had been charged with peeping-related crimes at least eight times before the restaurant encounter.
Lane made it as far as the entrance to the Cracker Barrel bathroom area before being confronted by the girl’s furious father, Long said.
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It’s unclear what exactly happened next, but it apparently left a bloodied Lane quickly trying to leave.
“The guy came running, sprinting out the front door with a very bloody nose,” a witness said.
Lane’s escape was cut short as other dads intervened, taking him down in the parking lot, according to Long.
The group reportedly watched over the bloody and dazed man until police arrived.
The aftermath was captured on camera as one man warned Lane that he was lucky to have received such a light beating.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive:
@jpartridge714♬ original sound – J. Partridge
After investigating the scene, responding officers discovered Lane’s phone in the women’s bathroom, police said.
The alleged peeping tom was slapped with a voyeurism charge and a seemingly unrelated cannabis charge.
Lane, who lives in North Carolina, is currently bonded out of jail. He was ordered by a judge to move to South Carolina (but to not contact his alleged victim), and is being tracked with a court-ordered GPS monitor.
The accused man will have a chance to defend himself in court beginning Nov. 12.
With an ongoing investigation and a sea of witnesses, it appears as though Lane’s lawyer will need to do some serious work to mount a defense.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
