TSA screener charged with voyeurism for allegedly taking upskirt video at Sea-Tac

SEATTLE -- A TSA agent at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was charged Thursday with one count of voyeurism for allegedly taking a video under the skirt of an unsuspecting woman on an escalator at the airport.

Bail was set at $20,000 for Nicholas James Fernandez, 29.

According to the TSA, that employee has been removed from screening duties and is on indefinite suspension without pay, but passengers were concerned to hear about the incident.

With an evening flight, Joy Burmeister didn’t worry about what she’d wear to Sea-Tac Wednesday.

“Usually I wear pants or leggings, and today I came straight from work, and I didn’t even think about it.”

However, she says that might change upon hearing news a TSA agent is accused of looking up a passenger’s skirt.

According to probable cause documents, detectives had been performing surveillance on the agent based on a tip and when he took a break from Checkpoint 5 Tuesday afternoon, they say they caught him turning on his phone’s flashlight, placing it under a woman’s skirt and recording while he rode up behind her on an escalator.

“Wow, that’s even scarier because you definitely don’t pay attention on an escalator,” said Shay McLemore, who was checking in for a flight to Florida. “You’re usually looking to make sure you didn’t drop anything.”

McLemore said she is horrified, especially considering she has little ones traveling with her.

“That’s pretty scary,” said McLemore. “I mean this is supposed to be a secure place. You trust the TSA agents so that’s pretty scary.”

The TSA released this statement regarding the investigation:

"TSA does not tolerate illegal, unethical or immoral conduct. 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."