A new investigative report details allegations that men across the United States have been masturbating in front of women at various Dollar Tree locations.
The disturbing trend, which has been referred to as the “Dollar Tree gooner,” is the focus of a lengthy piece reported by The Guardian.
The term gooner refers to someone involved in an online subculture focused on excessive and prolonged masturbation, known as gooning.
In one instance covered by The Guardian, a woman reported that she was shopping at a Dollar Tree in Texas in 2023 when a man ejaculated on her.
When she later told store employees about the incident, she overheard an employee say in Spanish, “We’ve got another one,” per the outlet.
The woman later reportedly learned of similar incidents at other Dollar Tree locations.
“We couldn’t believe how big the scale was,” the woman’s attorney Anna Greenberg told The Guardian.
According to The Guardian, the acts of masturbating or ejaculating on unsuspecting women in public are referred to online as “tagging” or “sharking.”
Another notable example occurred in 2024, when a woman in Philadelphia recorded the aftermath of an incident during which she said a man ejaculated on her in a Dollar Tree.
After the case went viral, Fox 29 reported that the suspect turned himself in days later. The Philadelphia case was also featured in The Guardian’s investigation. The suspect reportedly pleaded guilty to indecent exposure, open lewdness and indecent assault without the consent of the other party.
The Guardian also reported that one man who exposed himself to a woman at a different Dollar Tree in Texas was a sheriff’s deputy.
The deputy, who has since been relieved of duty, was charged with indecent exposure, per KTRK.
The trend appears to date back even further than the 2023 incident. In 2019, NBC San Diego reported that a woman alleged that a man masturbated in front of her inside a Dollar Tree in California.
“If he did this to me, what could he do to a kid?” the woman, Blanca Chavez, told the outlet.
“We take reports of inappropriate, unlawful, or harassing behavior in our stores extremely seriously,” a spokesperson for the company reportedly said. “Any incident of this nature is unacceptable, and when we become aware of criminal activity, we cooperate fully with law enforcement and support their investigations.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
Original Source: PEOPLE
I think its specific to men who shop at Dollar Tree 😃
WTF is wrong with men????