PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Twice this week there were reports that women were secretly recorded in spaces they thought they had privacy while undressing.
The separate cases happened in Palm Beach County — one in a bathroom and the other in a dressing room.
WPTV took an in-depth look into the crime, how many victims are unaware it's even happening and ultimately what's putting suspects behind bars.
The victims in these cases had expectations of privacy when they suddenly saw a cellphone creeping into their stalls. What most suspects don't realize is that these devices help them commit the crime, but it’s also how they get caught.
While using the public restroom at Lake Worth Beach Park, a woman never expected to see a man's legs in the stall next to her or the cellphone he was holding facing her. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said this incident happened in April. The suspect in the case, Nicholas Blais, was later arrested.
In a separate case, just a week ago, another victim reported a man holding a phone underneath her dressing room stall at Kohl's department store near Royal Palm Beach.
Deputies are looking for the man in that case.
"I've watched this issue get worse, and the legislation has responded by getting tougher," Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said.
As a state senator in 2004, Aronberg saw a growing trend of peeping tom's upgrading their shoe mirrors to cellphone cameras.
"When I first sponsored this bill in 2004, people didn’t know that this was going on," Aronberg said. "They knew about the Paris Hilton's sex tape, so there were a lot of jokes about that. They thought, 'Oh, this is a celebrity thing that normal people don't have to endure.'"
Aronberg's bill making video voyeurism illegal eventually passed.
He explained there are several ways people can fall victim.
"There's up skirting which is when you put a camera on your shoe to look at women's skirts, and there are cameras being placed in dressing rooms," Aronberg said.
Aronberg said any private recordings or photos of you, where you had a reasonable expectation of privacy, is video voyeurism.
"Unfortunately, these days we have to be so much more aware of our surroundings," Jeannie Hoban with the Sexual Assault Response Team of Palm Beach County said. "We think of voyeurism as the old-fashioned peeping Tom with a hole in the wall, but these days with recording devices, they can be anywhere."
Hoban said in many cases victims of video voyeurism may be ashamed and the crime may go unreported.
"They might feel that nobody will believe them and they may not know what to do," Hoban said.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the victim at Lake Worth Beach Park confronted the suspect in the bathroom. He pleaded he'd delete the videos if she didn't call 911.
Still, she shared a photo of him with detectives who tracked down Blais through social media.
"Although technology has made this more common crime unfortunately technology has also led us to capture the defendants much more easily," Aronberg said.
Palm Beach County's inmate search shows there have been four arrests on charges of video voyeurism statutes so far this year — over the years the state Legislature has made the offense a felony.
"We're in 2022, 18 years later, no one laughs about this anymore," Aronberg said.
A first-time offense for this crime can be punishable by up to five years.
Committing video voyeurism involving a minor under 16 is considered a sex crime and punishable by up to 15 years in prison and labels the felon a sex offender.
Here are some red flags to look out for to avoid becoming a victim:
- Check for any flashing or steady red light in the bathroom, dressing stall or place where privacy is expected
- Hearing a noise of a cellphone or camera still photo capture
- If you suspect you have been recorded or photographed, report it to the store or law enforcement
Victims needing help or resources can call the Sexual Assault Response Team helpline at 561-833-7273.