A local man has been charged with peeping at a half-dressed woman from a ceiling as she prepared to tan at the Planet Fitness in North Augusta, authorities said.
Alton Bernard Sapp Jr., 30, of Augusta, was charged Tuesday with Peeping Tom and held without bond at the Aiken County Detention Center. The incident happened almost a year ago, on May 28, 2024, but he was just captured and extradited from Richmond County to Aiken County this week.
The victim, a 48-year-old female bodybuilder, told officers that she was in room 3 preparing to get into the tanning bed, a report says.
“She took off her shorts, then took off her bra, and then began taking off her shirt by pulling the shirt over her head, when she observed a black male with a black due rag on his head looking down from the ceiling,” according to the North Augusta Public Safety report.
When the woman observed the suspect, he jumped down from the ceiling into tanning room 2 next door. The victim got dressed and told general manager Detwan Lamb about the incident.
Officer A. Gregory went into tanning room 2 and observed a ceiling tile was removed. A ladder was stowed away in the corner. The ceiling tile in room 3 was removed a little, the report says.
The fitness center later provided officers with surveillance video and Sapp was identified as the suspect a week later, with a warrant being issued. But it took almost a year to get him in handcuffs, extradite him from Georgia and serve the warrant.
Reached on Wednesday, the fitness center’s general manager would not confirm whether Sapp was a previous employee or not, directing questions to other company representatives. But a LinkedIn page identifies him as the assistant manager of Planet Fitness at the time of the incident.
Sapp, of the 3600 block of Peach Orchard Road, told authorities Tuesday that he was currently employed at a local convenience store. He has at least one previous arrest, for DUI and refusing to comply with a lawful order in 2023. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was fined.
