A Cortez man was charged this week in District Court on suspicion of peeping into a bathroom at the Durango Welcome Center on Main Avenue.

Hernando Tsosie, 39, faces one count of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, a felony. He was being held Wednesday at the La Plata County Jail on $7,500 bail.

According to police and an arrest affidavit, Tsosie looked over a bathroom stall on at least two occasions while a 9-year-old girl used the bathroom about 3:30 p.m. May 31. The girl ran out of the restroom screaming for her mother, according to the affidavit.

The girl’s father went to confront Tsosie, and found him masturbating in the women’s bathroom, according to the affidavit.

Tsosie attempted to push past the father multiple times in an attempt to leave, but the father prevented him from leaving until law enforcement arrived.

The family was apparently visiting, because they were staying at a local motel, said Cmdr. Rita Warfield, with the Durango Police Department.

“People that are hanging out and appear to be loitering for those type of purposes would be removed right away,” Warfield said. “But I don’t think anybody really saw this person come in and go into the girl’s bathroom.”

Tsosie appeared to be intoxicated at the time of his arrest, she said.

shane@durangoherald.com