A 33-year-old male drifter was nearly lynched by a crowd who accused him of spying on women in a public restroom. (Courtesy: Visão Notícias)

BR — Marília, São Paulo. A man who identified himself as a woman was surrounded, beaten and nearly lynched by an angry mob who say he spied on women in the women’s restroom.

The man, a 33-year-old drifter from Santa Antoinette, was arrested by Military Police.

Witnesses say that, over the course of a week, the man had repeatedly entered the women’s restroom at an urban bus terminal in downtown Marília to watch women during their intimate moments.

On previous occasions, the accused voyeur had managed to evade capture. On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 21, a crowd surrounded him as he tried to run away.

Some individuals in the crowd attempted to lynch the suspected voyeur, but others intervened and prevented further violence.

The crowd held the man until law enforcement arrived to arrest him.

The accused perpetrator justified his presence in the women’s restroom by claiming that “at that moment” he “felt like a woman.”

A witness captured photos of the accused, which were sent to local news portal Visão Notícias.

The case was turned over to the Women’s Defense Department (DDM) for investigation. The DDM, which was established in 1985, is dedicated to handling crimes of sexual or physical violence or moral turpitude against victims who are women or children.

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