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Seattle TSA Worker Arrested on Voyeurism Charge

Authorities said the checkpoint worker used a cell phone to film up a woman's skirt on an escalator at Seattle's airport.
The central terminal Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is shown Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Seattle.
The central terminal Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is shown Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Seattle.Ted S. Warren / AP

A Transportation Security Administration agent in Seattle was arrested after allegedly being spotted using a phone to take video up a woman’s skirt at the city’s airport, according to authorities.

Nicholas Fernandez, 29, was arrested on a charge of voyeurism Tuesday, Seattle police said in an arrest report. The incident occurred on an escalator, and not in a security line.

"TSA does not tolerate illegal, unethical or immoral conduct," a spokesperson for the TSA said in a statement.

"When such conduct is alleged, TSA investigates it thoroughly. When appropriate, TSA requests that it be investigated by a law enforcement authority. When an investigation finds that misconduct has occurred, the appropriate action is taken.”

Fernandez has been removed from screening duties and he has been suspended without pay, the agency said.

According to an arrest report, the TSA was investigating information it received that Fernandez, who works at Seattle Tacoma International Airport, might have taken inappropriate photos of women.

A TSA special agent saw Fernandez take a break from a checkpoint at around 11:15 a.m. and follow a woman up an escalator, where he activated a cell phone flashlight and appeared to take video of the woman.

Fernandez is jailed in lieu of $7,500 bail, according to jail records. Court records online did not list an attorney.

Last year, the TSA fired two employees at Denver’s airport after the agency alleged they were involved in the groping of male passengers in a security line.

The TSA said a male screener enlisted the aid of a female employee so he could arrange to pat down attractive male passengers.

The employees were not identified and no criminal charged were filed. Prosecutors said no victims in that case came forward so no charges could be filed.

The central terminal Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is shown Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Seattle.
The central terminal Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is shown Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, in Seattle.Ted S. Warren / AP