Hidden Camera Investigations at Starbucks and Federal Charges against John Towers for Child Pornography Production

Police are currently investigating another hidden camera that has been found inside the bathroom of a Starbucks location in Alpharetta, Georgia, following previous incidents involving secret cameras in restrooms. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have accused John Towers, a 54-year-old man from New York, of planting hundreds of concealed cameras in the ladies’ room at a public park where he worked to capture explicit footage of girls and women using the bathroom. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern District of New York has stated that Towers used an old cellphone as well as ten “spy” cameras, including some disguised as ballpoint pens or button-shaped devices, in order to record around 800 videos and over 6,000 images which were uploaded online. The investigation led authorities to find computers and hard drives filled with pornographic content at Towers’ home on March 19th this year; some files included misspelled terminology for “young”. Towers faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor (which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years in prison) as well as possession of child pornography.