WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — West Palm Beach police said on Tuesday that a man accused of planting a hidden camera inside bathrooms at three medical facilities in Palm Beach County was caught with more than a million images and videos on his cellphone.
The Department of Homeland Security arrested Rudelmiro Santizo Perez on Monday in Houston, Texas as he was trying to board a plane to his home country of Guatemala, according to detectives.
Santizo Perez was charged with eight counts of video voyeurism by the West Palm Beach Police Dept., with a ninth charge possibly on the way.
Authorities believe Santizo Perez planted a hidden camera inside bathrooms at three medical facilities: St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, the Lynn Cancer Institute at 701 NW 13th Street in Boca Raton, and the Lynn Cancer Institute at 16313 S. Military Trail in suburban Delray Beach.
Investigators said Santizo Perez was an employee at all three facilities when the camera was placed there, and had access to the bathrooms as a result of his employment status.
3rd video voyeurism case confirmed by @BocaPolice at the Lynn Cancer Institute locates at 701 NW 13th Street. Same suspect charged by @WestPalmPD tied to three hidden camera cases. https://t.co/mam5VCO119 @WPTV
— Merris Badcock (@MerrisBadcock) October 22, 2019
Police said he worked in the CT Scan department at St. Mary's, and on PET Scans at the Lynn Cancer Institute.
"It was just one camera...and place it during one of his shifts," said Det. Molly Anderson. "[After the investigation began], he continued to work his regular shifts and no one suspected anything."
Police said a forensic search of Perez's cellphone turned up more than a million images, including photos of the bathrooms involved.
"I just feel bad, as far as the victims, and even regular people now watching this have to be careful of going to the bathroom," said Det. Anderson. "Now we're going to be looking in every crease and crevice for a camera."
Det. Anderson added there will be three different law enforcement investigations into Perez because of jurisdictional boundaries.
A spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office told Contact 5 investigator Merris Badcock that detectives assisted in finding a camera hidden in a bathroom in the suburban Delray Beach Lynn Cancer Institute facility. While the case is active, PBSO detectives do not have any victims at the moment.
Boca Raton Police Dept. detectives confirmed that they had identified three victims who were captured on a hidden camera inside the Lynn Cancer Institute off NW 13th Street, but had not pressed charges as of Tuesday evening.
Investigators believe the Boca Raton camera was placed inside a bathroom on Sept. 30th. The latest camera was found on Oct. 3 inside an employee bathroom at St. Mary's Medical Center. Police said there are at least nine victims there.
A spokesperson for St. Mary's released this statement to WPTV:
"As soon as we discovered the camera, we notified police. We are fully cooperating with their investigation, and we have notified all employees who work in the area where the camera was found."
Boca Raton Regional Hospital, which is affiliated with the Lynn Cancer Institute, released this statement to WPTV:
"The safety and privacy of our patients and employees is our priority. As soon we were notified of this incident, we contacted the police and immediately placed the individual on administrative leave. We are terminating the individual. We are fully cooperating with law enforcement. We are unable to comment further as the incident continues to be an active police investigation."
Santizo Perez is facing multiple video voyeurism charges, and police said more charges could be added as more victims are identified. Police confirmed the suspect has a wife and children, and does not appear to have a criminal history beyond minor traffic infractions.
If you have any information about Perez or the hidden camera, please contact Detective Tim Kurdys with the Boca Raton Police Department at 561-338-1377, Detective Molly Anderson with the West Palm Beach Police Department at 561-822-1846 or Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers 800-458-TIPS.