Police search for man they say groped teenager at Walmart

TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — Police showed Eyewitness News surveillance video from inside the Walmart in Taylorsville.

The video shows a man stand behind a teenager for nearly a minute as she looks through CDs. He then moves in and touches the 15-year-old inappropriately from behind.

"You talk about somebody who would actually touch your daughter. It showed one-by-one what he had done. He followed her from one aisle to the next. He was staring at her; you could see the pictures. She said it was terrifying," said the teenager's mother, who asked not to be identified.

The key to the case is not just the surveillance video of the assault inside but what cameras in the parking lot and near the front entrance of the store captured. Police froze the images to get a better look at the man they believe is responsible.

Police say they believe the man may be in his 30s or 40s and was seen getting into a car after the incident and driving off.

"It appears he is looking for cameras, and anyone who is watching -- and then the child runs away, and he nonchalantly walks out," said Detective Lisa Johnson with the Taylorsville police.

The teenager ran to her mother after the attack. Police are concerned not only because of the brazen nature of the assault but because it happened in such a public place.

"If he is willing to do this to a stranger and a child in Walmart, we are concerned he may do this somewhere else," Johnson said.