Tracking Device Stalking Charge Added In Vernon Voyeurism Case

VERNON, CT — A Vernon man who was free on bail in a voyeurism investigation was arrested again Tuesday and is accused of installing an electronic tracking application in the vehicle of the victim in the case for stalking purposes, both an arrest report and warrant indicate.

The new charges against 47-year-old Donald Sterling were levied at Rockville Superior Court Wednesday. They include three counts of first-degree stalking in violation of a court order, a single count of electronic stalking, and two counts each of violating a restraining order and violating a protective order.

Sterling spent the night in the Vernon Police Department lockup and was to appear in court Wednesday on the new charges, police said. His bond f0r the new charges was set at $250,000.

When Sterling was first arrested on Jan. 12, his bond was also set at a quarter-million dollars, but that was reduced to $50,000 at an arraignment, which he posted. He was later ordered by a judge not to have contact with the victim and the children also involved in the voyeurism case, records show.

According to a warrant, a Global Positioning System "tracking device" was discovered in the victim's vehicle during the investigation. It had been installed more than a year ago, according to a warrant.

The original warrant was served on Sterling Jan. 12 in conjunction with a search warrant at his Vernon home, police said. The warrant charged Sterling with two counts of voyeurism with malice, fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Among the accusations outlined in a warrant is controlling behavior at his home with those he came in contact with that led to inappropriate touching. He is accused of "making passes" at teens in a warrant.

Sterling is also accused of setting up an elaborate motion-activated camera system disguised as a speaker that followed the actions of those using a bathroom at his home. The camera was eventually discovered, according to a warrant.

During questioning, Sterling repeatedly denied all accusations, but then became increasingly agitated and eventually requested a lawyer, according to the warrant.