After man accused of filming in KCI all-gender restroom, prosecutors seek victims
After a man was accused of secretly filming women in an all-gender restroom at Kansas City International Airport (MCI), prosecutors are urging potential victims to come forward.
Meanwhile, Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett is calling for the airport to scale back all-gender restrooms in Concourse A and add more women-only facilities, saying it would better protect women.
“It’s illegal to take a picture of somebody in a state of undress in Missouri,” Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said during an afternoon press conference live-streamed on KMBC.com. “It’s also really creepy.”
Zahnd said cases like this can also make people feel uncomfortable about using all-gender bathrooms, though he noted similar incidents have happened in traditional restrooms, too.
Last week, prosecutors charged Teriosi Ludwig, 32, of Kansas City, with one count of invasion of privacy after he allegedly filmed 66 partially undressed women from under the stalls of an airport restroom.
On March 9, Kansas City Airport Police officers responded to a report of an invasion of privacy in the all-gender restroom behind the TSA checkpoint on the north end of Concourse A, said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Blake Sherer. The victim told investigators that she saw a cell phone being used to record her from beneath a stall divider.
An investigation, which included a review of surveillance video, identified a possible suspect as he returned to work at the Martin City Brewery. The suspect was quickly identified as Ludwig, and after he consented to a search of his phone, officers allegedly found multiple videos depicting women in restroom stalls, Sherer said.
Ludwig allegedly admitted to placing his phone under the stall to record the victims without their consent, Sherer said. An analysis of his phone allegedly found 66 videos with at least 65 additional unidentified victims, and metadata and surveillance video corroborated that the recordings took place in the same restroom over a period of weeks. All the recordings allegedly took place between Jan. 16 and March 9, in the Concourse A restroom, behind the TSA checkpoint.
Ludwig was being held in the Platte County jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
Zahnd urged potential victims, or anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious, to call the Kansas City International Airport Police at 816-243-5175.
An airport police officer will meet with victims who come forward to ask them their experience, as well as a date and approximate time, Zahnd said. People should check their tickets or itineraries to narrow down a possible timeframe. Police and prosecutors will then check the metadata. Then, prosecutors will work with the victims going forward, providing them with victim advocates who are experienced with sensitive cases.
“I know it’s embarrassing, I know it’s hard,” Zahnd said. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Zahnd framed the case as part of a broader public-safety push, with international attention on Kansas City during the FIFA World Cup. Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to pass through KCI.
Willett first offered apologies on behalf of the City of Kansas City to the families and the victims, saying he believed this incident could have been “absolutely prevented.”
Willett said the airport was designed to be “so inclusive” that — in his view — it is uninclusive and not safe for families and not safe for individuals. He said this situation proves it, and he’ll be calling on his colleagues on the council to change the policy, pushing for more women-only facilities in Concourse A.
“Do we need some individual spaces for people to not have different values or beliefs than me?” he asked. “Sure, but the majority of the stalls in those terminals need to be traditional stalls so we can actually have a safe environment, not only for constituents, but the visitors and the people around this area. And we’re going to make sure that happens.”
There are 24 stalls in the all-gender bathroom, yet only 13 in the women-only facility, Willett said. He said those could easily be interchanged.
“Let’s be common sense about this. This is not being hateful,” Willett said. “This is actually saying that we want to make sure that that women are protected in our community. And if someone is a transgender individual and wants to use a bathroom, we can make that available to them, but we shouldn’t have to bow down for the masses based on that one individual or small minority of folks.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 5:44 PM.
