Secret Phone App Held Surreptitious Fitting-Room Photos: Police

YONKERS, NY — A Yonkers man accused of recording videos of women changing clothes in fitting rooms at Forever 21 in the Cross County Shopping Center has been indicted on 48 counts.

Heriberto Polanco was arraigned Oct. 21 before Westchester County Court Judge Anne E. Minihan. He had been indicted Sept. 30 by a Westchester County Grand Jury on the following charges:

• 24 counts of Unlawful Surveillance 2: Use/Install Imaging Device for Amusement/Profit, class E felony
• 24 counts of Unlawful Surveillance 2: Use Imaging Device for No Legitimate Purpose, class E felony

Following arraignment, Polanco was released on his own recognizance. His next court date is scheduled for January 2021.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. said a woman who was trying on clothes Aug. 28, 2019 noticed a cell phone on a sneaker just outside her fitting room with the camera lens aimed up into her dressing room. The victim started screaming and immediately called to her 13-year-old sister who was waiting just outside the dressing rooms.

The victim's sister saw a man running out of the dressing rooms. The victim immediately called the police who identified Polanco, a Forever 21 employee, as a suspect. Police alleged the victim's sister was then able to positively identify Polanco from a double-blind photo array.

Polanco was questioned by Yonkers police in 2019 and, police alleged, admitted to placing his phone under the victim's dressing room stall and attempting to record her changing in and out of clothes. Polanco also admitted to recording other female customers in the dressing rooms of Forever 21 without their permission during August 2019.

A search warrant was obtained for his cell phone. Police said forensic analysis revealed that although no video or photo was actually captured on Aug. 28, 2019 at 7:15 p.m. when the victim screamed for help and called police, the camera function of the phone was in use during that time.

Additionally, police alleged the forensic analysis revealed Polanco used a mobile application called "Gallery Vault," which is used to secretly store photos and videos on a phone. Forensics experts recovered 23 clearly surreptitious videos of women from Polanco's phone and determined all to have been taken at Forever 21 from March 2019 through September 2019.

Superior Court Trial Division Assistant District Attorney Marissa Morra-Wynn of the Sex Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case.