CULLMAN, Ala. – An Alabama man is accused of producing child pornography at a Walmart while working as an employee at the store, authorities said.
Ethan Edward Richardson, 25, of Cullman, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with the production of child pornography, possession of child pornography and aggravated criminal surveillance, according to a Facebook post by the Cullman Police Department.
The charges stem from a Feb. 4 incident at the Walmart in south Cullman, AL.com reported,
According to Adam Clark, a spokesperson for the police department, officers were investigating a theft at the store on Feb. 4 when they were approached by a customer who alleged that Richardson was recording a child inside the store, WBRC-TV reported. Police said a recording device found at the store belonged to Richardson, according to the television station.
“There’s no other recording device, there’s not a device that been installed anywhere in the store,” Clark said, according to WBMA-TV. “This is a device that belonged to this subject.”
Police later said that Richardson allegedly recorded images of a 4-year-old inside the store’s restroom, according to the television station.
“It is disgusting that it happened,” Clark said, according to WBRC. “I am thankful it was caught so soon.”
In a statement, Walmart said that Richardson is no longer an employee at the store.
“We do not discuss the details of personnel matters but we can confirm that this person is not currently working in our store,” the company said.
“I probably won’t let nobody talk to my kids. I mean I already have the mom instinct of not letting them run off, having them close to me, but now I can’t even let a worker come up and speak them,” Mckenzie Smith, who shops at the store, told WBMA. “That just irritates me.”
Richardson’s bail was set at $80,000, according to the television station.
