A BIZARRE story involving multiple victims caught up in a strip-search scam has gripped the media.
Cops arrested David Richard Stewart over the crimes.
Who is David Richard Stewart?
At the time he was arrested, David Richard Stewart was a security guard at a Walmart in Panama City, Florida.
The then 38-year-old suspect was married to a woman named Julie Stewart and the father of five children.
Stewart was held over a series of fraudulent phone calls made to a number of restaurants and small businesses.
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What crimes was David Richard Stewart accused of?
Stewart was said to be involved in a strip-search phone crime across rural areas in the United States.
The crimes began in 1994 and continued for a total of 10 years.
In the scams, the caller rang grocery stores or restaurants claiming to be a police officer convincing employees to operate strip searches and perform humiliating acts.
During these phone calls, the caller would impersonate law enforcement.
Throughout these impersonations, they would exploit the receiving callers and ask them to engage in sexual activity with each other.
Once the receivers caught on to the deception, they reported the caller to their actual local law enforcement.
Around 70 phone calls were reported across 30 US states.
Who were David Richard Stewart's victims?
The crimes affected a number of people across the US including Donna Summers and Louise Ogborn.
Louise, who was 18 at the time of the ordeal, underwent therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Donna subsequently ended her engagement and was fired from McDonald’s.
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Both victims sued McDonald’s due to their ordeals.
Ogborn sued for $200million (£161million) and Summers sued for $50million (£40million).
When was David Richard Stewart arrested?
On June 30, 2004, Stewart was arrested in connection to a list of phone scams and sexual solicitation reports that happened in Kentucky, North Dakota, Nevada, Florida, and Georgia.
His apprehension followed a case that transpired when a man called a McDonald's in Mount Washington, Kentucky.
In order to pull off this scheme, he presented himself under false pretenses and went by a fake identity as "Officer Scott".
On April 9, 2004, Officer Scott contacted Mount Washington McDonald's and requested to speak to the location's manager Donna Summers.
The alleged police officer - who police later identified as David Richard Stewart - lied to Summers and provided a vague description of an employee who was accused of theft.
Although the story was fraudulent, Summers pinpointed 18-year-old staffer Louise Ogborn as the young woman matching the description made up by "Officer Scott."
Summers was kept on the phone for over three hours with the caller instructing her and her boyfriend Walter Nix Jr to strip-search Ogborn as part of a supposed theft investigation.
This incident was captured by the establishment's surveillance cameras and was reported to local investigators who traced the call to Panama City, Florida.
When Stewart was taken into custody, he was charged with impersonating a police officer and solicitation of sodomy.
On October 31, 2006, he was acquitted of all charges from the case.
Where is David Richard Stewart today?
Since Stewart's court appearance not much is known about him.
He is currently in his mid 50s opting for a quieter life away from the limelight.
It is also unknown if he still resides in Florida or if he relocated for a new life.
How can I watch Don't Pick Up the Phone?
The string of over-the-phone strip search hoaxes is retold in a true crime documentary titled Don't Pick Up The Phone.
On December 14, 2022, Don't Pick Up The Phone was released via Netflix.
The docuseries consists of testimonies from the officials and subjects involved with the list of cases.
The scams were also chronicled in the Peacock docuseries Pervert: Hunting The Strip-Search Caller.
