A man charged with exposing himself at least nine times since 2011 had his latest charge dismissed because of a court error, upsetting the victim.
The woman said Christopher Vincent Sumrell, 27, exposed himself to her at Hot Worx, a hot yoga and pilates studio where she used to work, in February.
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"He was sitting out in a common area in the gym with his shorts pulled up and exposing himself," said Lisa, who asked that her last name not be used.
Sumrell had gone to Hot Worx for a complimentary workout, she said, noting that a security camera also captured footage of him masturbating in the sauna.
Lisa said she became so afraid to leave the studio at night that she quit.
After police charged Sumrell in the case, Lisa did some research on him.
"Just by googling his name, the first thing that came up was a WRAL story," she said.
WRAL News has aired several stories involving Sumrell being charged with exposing himself:
- In 2013, he was accused of exposing himself at William Peace University and at Wake Tech Community College.
- In 2016, he was charged with exposing himself at six different stores in the Cary Crossroads shopping center and at a business on Western Boulevard in Raleigh.
"It makes me mad that this isn't taken seriously, and it makes me mad that he's not a registered sex offender and he's out on the streets to be able to do this to other people," Lisa said. "Just because it's indecent exposure doesn't mean tomorrow is going to be indecent exposure. It could be a lot worse."
Indecent exposure is a misdemeanor under North Carolina law, so offenders serve no more than four months in jail, regardless how many times they have been convicted, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said.
Sumrell has been jailed six times for indecent exposure, she said.
"Largely what you are dealing with here is a situation where the law is inadequate to address these types of situations," Freeman said, adding that the crime doesn't require registration as a convicted sex offender.
Sumrell is currently behind bars because of a probation violation, but the indecent exposure charge against him in connection with the alleged incident at Hot Worx was dismissed because the court failed to deliver a subpoena to Lisa on two different occasions.
Freeman said she is looking into refiling the charge because of the mistake.
Lisa said she just wants Sumrell off the street.
"What's he going to do next?" she asked. "I don't want him to be able to do it to anyone else."