An East Hampton landlord of a summer rental home has been charged with allegedly spying on his tenants with hidden cameras. Donald Torr, 69, of Celebration, Fla. faces 14 counts of unlawful surveillance in the second degree, a felony, and nine counts of endangering the welfare of children.
An investigation began after one of Torr’s tenants discovered wire hanging from a television to be a video camera. There were two more cameras in a bedroom and one camera in the shower. The cameras were hidden in places like an air conditioning vent, a baseboard heater, a television speaker as well as a smoke detector.
The East Hampton Town police obtained two search warrants for the home and also found a digital video recording system hooked up for viewing of recordings remotely.
Torr’s summer rental home is located at 18 Winterberry Lane in East Hampton and went for $7,000 a week. An investigation covered incidences that took place last summer, during two separate weeks in August, including Aug. 19 to 26 and Aug. 26 to 30.
There are hours of video recording found where cameras were pointed at beds and in the shower area, according to the lawsuit. Some video footage showed victims nude, according to reporting from ABC News. The recordings covered nearly two dozen adults and children without their permission or knowledge, according to Suffolk County prosecutor John Cortes.
According to Torr’s attorney, the cameras were in place for security purposes, so that the home was not vandalized. Torr’s attorney also claims Torr never watched the videos of tenants.
If Torr is convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. Torr is due back in court on July 11. He is also held on $100,000 bail, and is expected to make bail in the new few days.
[Source: ABC News.]