University Police: Unclear How Many Recorded By Alleged Video Voyeur

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A former Wayne State University student faces five criminal charges, including felony counts of video voyeurism and using a computer to commit a crime, after he allegedly spied on students with a hidden video camera as they used a restroom in a campus building.

A man using a restroom in State Hall last September spotted the recording device, which was in a backpack positioned between two stalls, and alerted police, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The suspect was immediately arrested, and was criminally charged this month. He hadn’t been enrolled at the university in more than a year, Wayne State spokesman Matt Lockwood said in a statement.

It’s unclear how many people were recorded while using the stalls, Wayne State University Police Chief Dave Spencer told WJBK-TV. Spencer said that in 30 years as a campus police officer, he’s never encountered anything like this.

Authorities didn’t divulge what kind of device was being used, but it wasn’t a cell phone camera, according to the WJBK-TV report.

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Students interviewed by WJBK-TV said they were unaware of the alleged video voyeurism. Because the suspect was immediately taken into custody, university officials determined there was no imminent threat to students, so they didn’t issue a mass email or text message, police said.

Lockwood said the university is taking the matter seriously.

“We feel for the victims of this invasion of privacy and do not tolerate such criminal behavior,” he said.

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Photo via Flickr