UPDATED: Man Allegedly Secretly Filmed Women in Kickstand Cafe Bathroom

Photo: Joseph B. Hennessey. Credit: Arlington Police Department

Update, 12:20 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15:

Joseph B. Hennessey, 53, of Salem, New Hampshire, was arraigned Monday in Cambridge District Court and was held on $1,000 cash bail and ordered to stay out of Arlington, according to 7 News’ Byron Barnett. Hennessey said he found the flower pot in a cemetery and didn’t realize there was a camera inside, according to Barnett. He also said he used the women’s bathroom because he has irritable bowel syndrome and the men’s room was occupied, according to Barnett.

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Initial post, Saturday, Sept. 13:

A 53-year-old Salem, New Hampshire, man allegedly set up a hidden camera Saturday morning in the women’s bathroom at Kickstand Cafe in Arlington Center and then watched streaming footage from the camera on another camera in the cafe.

Joseph B. Hennessey was arrested at the scene and has been charged with photographing an unsuspecting nude person and disturbing the peace, according to police. He is being held without bail at the Arlington Police Department pending his Monday arraignment in Cambridge District Court.

Hennessey previously worked for the Town of Arlington’s Department of Public Works but now collects workers’ compensation, police said.

“This is a deeply troubling case, and I commend the victim for coming forward and helping us take this offender off the streets of our community,” Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan said in a statement.

Police responded to the cafe, at 594 Mass. Ave., at about 8 a.m. (it opened at 7 a.m.) for a report of a suspicious person and, through an investigation, uncovered the allegations. Police seized Hennessey’s electronic devices, including the camera he allegedly hid in the bathroom’s flower pot and the camera he allegedly watched the footage on, and are applying for search warrants for these devices. Police are also planning to contact authorities in Salem, New Hampshire, about Hennessey, according to a department release.

Hennessey is believed to frequent other cafes and establishments in the Arlington Center area, police said. The women’s bathroom at Kickstand Cafe is a single-person bathroom.

This is the first case of its kind in Arlington, according to police.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen Hennessey or who believes they may have been victimized in Arlington or another city or town to call Arlington Police at 781-643-1212.

“We don’t want to leave any stone unturned,” Arlington Police Capt. Richard Flynn said.