Man charged with assault for fondling woman's feet in Ferndale

FERNDALE, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Redford man has been charged for assault for unwanted touching of a woman's feet, and recording it with his phone.

At 48 years old - this Royal Oak mother thought she'd seen it all.

"A light bulb went off about the phone and I thought 'oh my God he's recording me,'" she said.

That was until last month when a customer walked in to the auto parts store she works at in Ferndale.

"He's like, 'I don't think you understand, I'm quite certain I saw something go into your shoe,'" she said. 

That customer 22-year-old Brandon Jackson, is accused of being persistent. She checked her boot but no bug. He pressed on.

"He takes my shoe off and feels my sock and he's talking to me about this whole bug thing and I thought this whole thing was so bizarre," she said.

She froze, then noticed the camera on his phone was open and filming. 

"There is over a couple dozen videos of women's feet and many pictures," said Sgt. Baron Brown, Ferndale police.

Brown said Jackson's scheme is telling women there is a bug in their shoe to live out some kind of foot fetish.

What he's accused of doing last month in Ferndale earned him a mug shot and a charges. 

"Assault and battery is an unwanted touching and she didn't consent to being touched," he said.

More victims could be out there - Sgt. Brown says this is a scenario that can be confusing to make sense of. 

"Like it chips away at a little part of you, I like people just a little bit less because this happened," the victim said. 

She says her female intuition kicked in, but she didn't listen a lesson for others.

"Trust your instincts take a pause if you need it," she said. "And act on it."