An 18-year-old high school student in New Jersey was caught after his alleged perverted plan to film women in bathrooms in a local mall was discovered. A hidden camera recorded dozens of videos of unsuspecting women and even a few minor girls while they were using the restroom at a popular mall store. This is a gross invasion of privacy, and it’s good that someone found it.
Now, the Special Victims’ Unit of the local police department is investigating the peeping Tom. Police have also discussed the possibility more cameras in other restrooms. The suspect will appear in court later this month, and hopefully he’ll tell the truth.
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A woman using the restroom found the camera.
A woman discovered a camera inside a public restroom inside JC Penney at the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office shared on X (formerly Twitter). The woman found the camera inside of a family restroom and promptly turned it over to the police.
The footage helped them find the suspect.
Among the videos found on the camera was one of a young man setting the camera up in the JC Penney bathroom. That footage allowed the police to track down 18-year-old Andy Cardenas, who lives in Jersey City. Police charged Cardenas with one count of invasion of privacy, which is a third-degree offense, the statement on X read.
The footage found is disturbing.
According to the criminal complaint obtained by NJ.com, the camera contained “approximately 35 videos of adult women who were exposed using the restroom, approximately four videos of female minors who were exposed using the restroom, and one video of a male and woman in the restroom together engaging in sexual acts.”
There's no way of knowing how long this was going on.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know how long the camera was set up, since none of the video footage is time-stamped or dated. It’s also not clear where all the videos were filmed because the videos show several unidentified restrooms.
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The investigation is ongoing.
Police don’t know if this is the only hidden camera Cardenas installed or if he installed others. There could be more cameras in other parts of the mall, or in other public places.
Andy Cardenas’ next court date is October 22.
