SANIBEL, Fla. (AP) — A New Hampshire man is facing charges in southwest Florida after disguising a camera as a fire alarm and hiding it in a public restroom near the beach, police said.
The 58-year-old man was arrested in Chicago on Aug. 19 and is awaiting extradition back to Lee County, Florida, to face a video voyeurism and other charges, according to a Sanibel police news release. Sanibel is a barrier island located southwest of Fort Myers.
Sanibel public works employees were at a family restroom at Bowman’s Beach Park on July 28 when they noticed a new fire alarm device on the wall, police said. After verifying the device had not been installed by city staff, the workers called Sanibel police.
Officers verified the device was not a fire alarm and discovered it contained a video camera. Police said several beach patrons were recorded while using the family restrooms. Sanibel police notified other law enforcement departments in the area about cameras possibly being in restrooms.
Investigators were able to identify a suspect who may have installed the unauthorized video recording device, and police obtained an arrest warrant for the New Hampshire man's arrest on Aug. 9, officials said. He was taken into custody 10 days later at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
