41°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast

Latest Weather Blog

Follow our weather team on social media

Woman says secret camera was hidden in bathroom for years, disguised as phone charger

1 year 7 months 1 day ago Wednesday, August 17 2022 Aug 17, 2022 August 17, 2022 3:40 PM August 17, 2022 in News
Source: WBRZ

DENHAM SPRINGS - Security cameras are visible from the outside of the home where a woman says 38-year-old Christopher Johnson installed a secret camera that looks like a cell phone charger in the bathroom they used to share.

The woman tells WBRZ she lived in the home with Johnson until he moved out in July of 2021.

She says a couple months after he moved out, he gave her an SD card he thought contained pictures of a deceased family member.

Instead, she says she found hundreds of videos of her, her mother, their children and other guests using the bathroom. Johnson is facing 40 counts of video voyeurism stemming from the hidden camera. 

"Video Voyeurism is a crime in Louisiana. It prohibits the video taping of folks when they don't know it," attorney Chase Tettleton with Babcock Injury Lawyers said.

Tettleton explained the law backing the charges. He explained even with Johnson owning the house, laws don't allow someone, like a guest, to be secretly recorded in a bathroom.

"Penalties for video voyeurism do not give any kind of defense based on the ownership of the building," the attorney said. "Legislature passed some laws about placement of cameras in Air BNB's, short term rental properties. They now allow you to place cameras in these kinds of places. You have to post signs to indicate there are cameras. Even there, you cannot place cameras in the bedrooms or bathrooms."

WBRZ went to the Livingston Parish Sheriff Office to find out more information on what led to Johnson's arrest. We were told inquiries needed to be written and sent in through the US mail.

However, the clerk of court said Johnson's $1M bond was revoked and he will stay in jail until a hearing Wednesday at the earliest. 

"To prove a case of video voyeurism they either have to show the person who is doing the recording either had a lewd or insidious purpose, that just means a moral or sexual interest or idea," Tettleton said.

He added that this will be a long court process.

We also reached out to Johnson's company, that helps install cameras for clients, about if there was any investigation there. They told WBRZ it's no one's business.

Johnson's attorney didn't want to comment on this story.

Sheriff Jason Ard released a statement confirming the videos date back to 2019.

More News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days