North Hollywood, CAFor the women who were caught on tape by the so-called Sears Peeping Tom, the sense of the loss of privacy is immeasurable. Patrons of the clothing store expected to use the change rooms without falling victim to a Sears secret video tape made by the maintenance worker. Now, the retailer could face a Sears customer lawsuit or a Sears employee lawsuit, if it is proven the company knew about the workers' actions but did not alert authorities.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News (5/10/12), Alejandro Gamiz, who worked as a Sears maintenance worker, used a video camera to secretly tape women and girls for around three years. The cameras were used in changing rooms and bathrooms and were apparently triggered by motion sensors, turning on when the rooms were in use. Reuters, (5/2/12) reports that Gamiz could have used up to 60 cameras during his operation. A loss prevention employee noticed something suspicious during an inspection of the change rooms and police were called in. Gamiz has since been charged with 30 counts of peeping into a changing room and 30 counts of using a concealed video recording device.
Many women and girls have used the changing rooms in question over the past 30 years. Few know for sure if they were among the victims recorded on the cameras, but even without knowing for sure that they were recorded, some customers and employees are understandably concerned about the invasion of privacy. If underage girls used the change rooms and were recorded on camera, which is a strong possibility over the course of three years of recording, Gamiz could be guilty of creating and possessing child pornography.
Because more than 1,000 victims were reportedly recorded, police will likely never be able to name all the victims. However in such cases, there is still considerable emotional damage for people who believe they are victims. After all, the concern that one has been secretly recorded while using a changing room or bathroom is very real, as is the sense of invasion of privacy.
Some allegations have been made that Sears knew about Gamiz's activities three months before alerting the authorities. These allegations have not been proven. If, however, they were to be proven, Sears could be held liable for allowing the recordings to continue.
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