Landlord secretly recorded tenants in bathrooms and bedrooms for years, Utah cops say
.jpg "A registered sex offender became a landlord and allegedly recorded his tenants for years, Utah police said. Police found more than 320 voyeurism videos.")
A registered sex offender became a landlord and is accused of secretly recording his tenants for years, Utah police said.
Larry Phillips, a 69-year-old of Salt Lake City, was arrested and accused of putting hidden cameras in properties he rented out, Deseret News reported.
After an investigation and search warrant, officials found more than 320 voyeurism videos across multiple devices, according to Deseret News. Some videos featured victims being unknowingly recorded in bathrooms and bedrooms, having sex or undressing, Fox 13 reported.
“Most of the videos are recordings of the male tenants living in the home at the time they were recorded,” a police affidavit states, according to Deseret News. “There are also videos of females, visitors and even LDS missionaries.”
In July, two tenants reported finding a camera in their bedrooms, according to Fox 13. By September, police found more than 70 pieces of evidence from Phillips’ home, including a camera used to record an unknown naked man in the bathroom, the news outlet reported.
Police also seized laptops, video recorders, cameras, SD cards, flash drive, multiple hidden cameras and cellphones, ABC 4 reported.
The cameras were disguised to look like iPhone charger blocks, according to ABC 4. They were motion-activated and recorded video and audio.
“On the face of the charger, directly above the USB port, which fully functions as a charger for any USB device, was a small camera lens,” Desert News reported from the police affidavit. “The cameras work by motion detection and record both video/audio files to a mini SD card which is accessible from the back of the charger.”
Phillips originally told police he had four cameras for “security purposes,” news outlets reported. He denied that the cameras were used for other purposes, according to ABC 4.
The landlord turned himself in Monday and was arrested, according to Fox 13. He faces 13 charges of voyeurism by electronic equipment concealed or disguised and seven counts of burglary of a dwelling, according to ABC 4.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 6:21 PM.