A man has been accused of hiding at least two cameras in his Airbnb rental in the well-to-do coastal town of Longboat Key, Florida, between Tampa and Sarasota.
A couple visiting from Indiana discovered the cameras?one in the bedroom and one in the living room?on September 1, just a day after arriving, and reported them to police. The husband, Derek Starnes, told a local ABC television affiliate that he is sure the bedroom camera recorded him naked.
"My wife and I are distressed by this situation," Starnes told the TV station. "I hope more victims will come forward."
After getting a warrant to search the house at 623 Cedars Court on September 2, investigators now believe that dozens of renters going back years may have been captured on video without their knowledge. Lt. Robert Bourque of the Longboat Key Police Department told Ars that the suspect, Wayne Natt, was arrested on October 3 and charged with one count of video voyeurism. Natt has since been released on bond.
Bourque was one of the officers who responded to the condo at Cedars Court. He said the hidden cameras were "Wi-Fi capable" and that he and his colleagues seized "multiple storage devices." Lt. Bourque declined to describe how much data they held locally.
"We questioned the property owner," Bourque said. "He said that the cameras were used for 'personal purposes.'" Bourque further explained to Ars that these purposes were "sexual in nature."
"[Natt] stated that he has 20 to 30 videos with sexual activity, but all parties involved had knowledge they were being recorded," Bourque said. "He never mentioned sex parties; he did state he was a swinger."
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