Border Patrol supervisor charged with secretly filming female employees
A veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol was charged Monday with installing a hidden camera to secretly videotape female employees undressing and using the toilet.
Armando Gonzalez, 46, a supervisor in the Chula Vista office, was arrested Friday by the FBI.
In his first court appearance, a two-count complaint was unsealed and U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill Burkhardt set bail at $50,000.
According to the complaint, Gonzalez “did capture an image of a private area of an individual without their consent” and then lied to investigators that the camera was installed in the women’s restroom as part of a drug investigation.
The complaint alleges that 300 images were retrieved from the camera, which was activated by a motion sensor. The taping began in July 2013 and continued until at least Jan. 9, prosecutors said.
Burkhardt ordered Gonzalez, a 20-year veteran of the Border Patrol, not to contact any of his alleged victims. Gonzalez is on paid administrative leave, his attorney said.
Twitter: @LATsandiego
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