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A police officer from Goodyear, AZ (a suburb of Phoenix) is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly videotaped women in various stages of undress at a local tanning salon.
A spokesman for the Avondale, Arizona police department says that a female patron of the tanning salon said she noticed a small square object on top of the partition that separated her dressing room for the one next to her. When she asked the staff about it, they told her a man had occupied the next room. She notified the police, and they were told of the identity of the man, who turned out to be a Goodyear cop.
Police say the man was using his cell phone to secretly videotape women from above the partition walls or through partition doors. After a search warrant was obtained, the police say they found dozens of call phone videos showing over 20 women in various stages of undress. The cop has been charged with 31 counts of surreptitiously recording the scenes.
A.R.S. 13-3019 prohibits, among other things, secretly videotaping another person in a location where the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and where the person is undressing. When the recording is accomplished by means of a device (such as a cell phone), it is a class 5 felony.
The report we read indicates that the officer has also been charged with one count of tampering with evidence. Apparently, the search revealed two cell phones, and police say one of the phones was “formatted” minutes before they arrived on the scene. We assume that, although the report is not clear on this point, the officer is being charged with tampering because he allegedly tried to erase the images on the phone’s memory card. Tampering with physical evidence is a class 6 felony.
The officer has entered a plea of not guilty to all the charges. At the same time, the owner of the tanning salon has apparently taken the breach of privacy seriously, and indicates that he is going to raise the height of the partitions in an attempt to prevent a repetition of conduct alleged in this case.
Law Offices of David A. Black
40 North Central Avenue #1850
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(480) 280-8028
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