Arlington Heights Man Pleads Guilty to Hiding Camera in Neighbors' Bathroom

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — A judge sentenced an Arlington Heights man to 120 days in jail Tuesday after he admitted to hiding a camera in his neighbor's bathroom in order to secretly record them, according to the Daily Herald.

Samuel Gadamandla, 53, also was given 30 months probation after pleading guilty to burglary and unlawful videotaping of an individual younger than 18 years old. Police arrested him in April after his neighbors — a husband and wife and their 5-year-old daughter — set up a video sting that caught Gadamandla in the act of replacing batteries to his camera.

The victim's husband called police after finding a camera in a bathroom vent and found pictures of his wife on its memory stick, the Post reports. The husband then set up video surveillance in the apartment, which caught Gadamandla entering the residence to try and change the battery on his hidden camera, the report added.

RELATED: Hidden Camera Catches Arlington Heights Man Accused of Taking Nude Videos of Neighbor

In late 2015, Gadamandla acquired a key to his neighbors' apartment and put a camera in their bathroom vent, the report stated. Earlier this year, the husband found the camera, which had photos of his wife on its memory stick. He then set up his own bathroom camera to try to catch Gadamandla in the apartment.

The neighbors' camera eventually did capture Gadamandla in the bathroom as he replaced the battery in his own device. The husband then contacted police about the invasion of privacy.

Once Gadamandla was in custody, police found thousands of photos and videos from the bathroom vent camera on computer equipment in Gadamandla's apartment.

More via the Daily Herald

photo via the Cook County Sheriff's Office

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