HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico police are searching for a man who they say committed a sex crime at a Henrico library during the middle of the day.
A Henrico woman who witnessed the incident recorded a man as he fondled himself just feet away from children, inside the Fairfield Area Library in Northern Henrico.
The graphic video shows a man sitting on a couch and touching himself while reading a magazine.
Suspect
The woman, who does not want to be identified, said she was disgusted as she was only 15 feet away.
"I was sitting in the library on my laptop working on some stuff, there was a gentlemen sitting across from me on the chair area. I kind of see him walking back and forth a little bit. So I’m still working on my project and I see him in his private area and I was like OK,” she said, recalling the incident.
The woman said he was reading Sports Illustrated and would look up at her and smile.
"When he continued to make eye contact, that’s when I was like, you know what, that’s it, I’m gonna pack my stuff up and I’m gonna go to the front desk and let them know what’s going on,” the woman said.
Witness
Mike Hatchet, the managing librarian on duty called police, but by the time officers arrived on scene the man, now wanted for indecent exposure, ran off.
"We called the police and they responded in a speedy professional way," said Hatchet.
Although the suspect got away, the witness handed over all here pictures and video of the man to police.
“I went ahead and record it, so I do have evidence so they can see clear footage of what was going on,” she added.
Fairfield Area Library
Wednesday the library on N. Laburnum Ave. was back to business as usual.
"We are a great library that serves a great community. This is a blip on the screen," said Hatchet.
Investigators said their investigation is ongoing, but they are asking for the public’s assistance to help identify the suspect.
If you have information that could help investigators, contact Henrico Police at 804-501-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000.
