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A MAN has been arrested after disturbing pen-shaped cameras were found hidden in public beach bathrooms.
Harold Perkins, 38, is accused of sneaking spy cams into restrooms by leaving them on the floor pointed toward toilets.
The disgusting cameras were discovered in at least three public bathrooms on the boardwalk of Ocean City, New Jersey.
The boardwalk is a popular spot where families and kids gather to enjoy the beach.
Perkins was arrested in Philadelphia on Friday after cops searched his house and car.
The first camera was found by an unsuspecting beachgoer named Fallon Conway on June 12.
Conway thought she saw a pen sticking out from behind the trash can, according to NBC affiliate WCAU.
“Immediately it was weird,” she told the outlet.
“Something was off.”
She was changing into her swimsuit with her friend and her friend’s three-year-old daughter when she spotted the device and picked it up, she told Fox affiliate WTXF-TV.
“It was really heavy and then I noticed there was a blue light on,” Conway told the outlet.
“Then I noticed the slide and a lens, like the slide that goes over the lens to cover it, like it would on a webcam.”
Conway disassembled the device and realized it was recording.
“I unscrewed it, and when I did, I saw the little charger port for it and an SD card in there,” she told ABC affiliate WPVI-TV.
“So, I held the button on the pen, and it turned off, so that when we realized it was a camera.”
She said the camera was directed at the toilet.
Timeline of hidden cameras
Harold Perkins, 38, has been arrested after allegedly placing pen-shaped cameras in public bathrooms at a boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. Below is a timeline of the case:
June 12
9:25 am – Perkins’ car is seen leaving Philadlephia, court documents say.
10:53 pm – Perkins arrives in Ocean City, police say.
11 am – Perkins arrives in the boardwalk area and allegedly places a camera at the 6th Street bathroom. He allegedly leaves and returns to place another camera in a different bathroom. He then allegedly changes part of his appearance and places devices at the 10th Street Comfort Station and more at the 11th Street station.
12:25 pm – Fallon Conway finds a pen-shaped camera in the 6th Street bathroom and calls the police.
1:20 pm – Perkins leaves Ocean City, according to court documents.
June 20
Cops search Perkins’ home and car in Philadelphia and arrest him on charges of invasion of privacy and endangering the welfare of a child.
After Conway called the cops, investigators found five more devices in multiple restrooms on the boardwalk.
Conway said she’s worried that pictures of her using the bathroom are somewhere on the internet because of the cameras.
“To know that I am definitely recorded somewhere, potentially on the dark web, is really scary,” Conway said.
Surveillance cameras outside the restroom helped lead police to Perkins by tracking his license plate.
CREEPY BEHAVIOR
Cops say Perkins placed the cameras about an hour before Conway discovered one, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WPVI.
He was caught on video arriving at the boardwalk at around 11 am and placing a camera in the bathroom that Conway used.
Perkins allegedly left and came back to put a second camera in another restroom.
Cops said he changed part of his appearance and went on to place more devices in two other bathrooms.
The footage on the pen-like cameras captured several victims, including children, using the bathroom, the complaint said.
Police said Perkins’ actions were “premeditated” because he brought disguises and wore gloves while placing the cameras.
“He employed multiple outfits and accessories, including hats, sunglasses, and black rubber gloves-to conceal his identity and avoid detection,” the complaint said.
“These actions, including the use of gloves to potentially avoid leaving DNA or fingerprints, indicate a calculated effort and suggest that this may not be his first offense.”
The Ocean City Police Department didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
Perkins is charged with six counts each of invasion of privacy and endangering the welfare of a child by manufacturing child pornography.
He is in custody in Philadelphia and will be sent back to New Jersey to face the charges.
