In February of 2023, a 25-year-old Walmart employee from Alabama was arrested for covertly recording a 4-year-old in the store’s restroom. After a further investigation, the Cullman Police Department has now indicted the employee on more than fifty felony child pornography charges.
The Cullman Police Department reported that Ethan Edward Richardson was initially arrested on February 22nd and charged with one count of production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and aggravated criminal surveillance. After posting a $80,000 bond, the investigation continued and on May 5th, Richardson was arrested again after being indicted by a Cullman County grand jury on a total of 53 criminal charges, which included 17 counts of possession of child pornography, 17 counts of production of child pornography, and 19 counts of aggravated surveillance.
The investigation revealed that Richardson had allegedly filmed at least 18 minors in the bathroom, some as young as two years old, dating back to October 2022. Allegedly, Richardson used his cellphone to secretly tape the minors in the store bathroom without their consent for “the purposes of sexual gratification.”
The civil lawsuit filed by the father of the first victim against Richardson and Walmart states that the father was in the bathroom with his 4-year-old daughter when he saw a smartphone with three camera lenses being slowly moved underneath one of the privacy walls of a restroom stall and angled toward the stall his daughter was using. The suit accuses Walmart of willful and wanton conduct, invasion of privacy, and being negligent in hiring and retaining Richardson as an employee.
Walmart released a statement indicating they are working with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation, and that they terminated Richardson in February after they were made aware of the incident.
Cullman Police Chief David Nassetta stated his thanks to the father of the first victim for coming forward to report Richardson, saying it “led to the uncovering of a much larger span of crime that occurred.”