A New York man secretly recorded hundreds of women and girls in a public restroom at a local park where he worked, federal prosecutors say.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said John Towers, 54, installed hidden cameras in the ladies' restroom at a public park in Putnam County, New York. Authorities declined to release the name of the public park.
Towers allegedly used the cameras installed to capture “pre-pubescent minors” and women using the restroom.
“John Towers’ alleged disturbing behavior violated the public trust by placing hidden cameras in public restrooms and using those cameras to capture sexually explicit images of children,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “As today’s arrest demonstrates, we will use every tool available to law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those suspected of sexually exploiting children.”
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John Tours (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York)
Towers allegedly used an old cell phone and 10 “spy cameras” to record about 800 explicit videos of girls and women using the restroom, according to a Manhattan federal complaint.
They also found more than 6,000 images and videos downloaded from the Internet, according to the complaint.
Authorities said three of the spy cameras were designed to look like ballpoint pens, and others resembled a battery, an antenna and a small camera that looked like a button.
Towers transferred the recordings to a hard drive, prosecutors alleged.
During an investigation at Towers' home on March 19, authorities found computers and hard drives filled with pornographic images.
Many of the files contained the misspelled term “yung,” prosecutors said.
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Federal authorities estimate the hidden cameras were in the toilets from at least July 24, 2018 to December 9, 2019.
John Towers was accused of installing hidden cameras in public toilets. (iStock)
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Towers is charged in the federal complaint with sexual exploitation of a minor, punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years, and possession of child pornography, punishable by maximum of 20 years in prison.