A California man is facing multiple charges after authorities found a hidden camera he allegedly placed in a Starbucks bathroom, allowing him to record dozens of victims — including children — as they used the facilities.
Detectives with the San Jose Police Department spent weeks searching for the suspect, now identified as Louie Juarez Jr., after being called into the coffee shop on Jan. 31. Someone had found the camera underneath the restroom's sink facing the toilet, SJPD said Wednesday.
The department's Sexual Assault Investigations Unit discovered the camera contained footage recorded from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 30. This single day of footage caught more than 91 victims, ranging from 4 to 85 years old, using the restroom, SJPD said.
"These videos are extremely graphic and contain multiple juvenile victims, fully exposed," the department said in a press release.
The SJPD Special Operations M.E.R.G.E. Unit found and arrested Juarez on March 15 in San Jose after obtaining arrest and residential search warrants, the department said. The execution of the latter revealed 20 firearms were inside the 35-year-old's home, "including an assault rifle, an unregistered firearm, high capacity magazines and other miscellaneous micro cameras," the department said. One, according to photos released by the department, appears to look like a soccer ball keychain.
Juarez was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail on possession charges of child pornography, high-capacity magazines, assault rifle and unregistered firearm. He also faces a charge of installment of a hidden surveillance camera with audio, the department said.
In a statement obtained by CBS News, Starbucks thanked SJPD for its "quick and thorough response" in the "deeply disturbing incident."
"We cannot overstate the importance of providing a safe environment for our customers and partners (employees). We will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement on this matter," the statement read.
California law states it's illegal to invade a person's privacy if a person has done so in an area where a person reasonably expects privacy; if the invasion was done with the intent to encroach on the person's privacy; and if the invasion was done by using an instrument like a camera, all without consent or knowledge of the other person.
Anyone who believes they may have been captured on the hidden camera, found at 695 Coleman Avenue in San Jose, is asked to contact Detective Lippert of SJPD's Sexual Assault Investigations Unit via email at 4583@sanjoseca.gov, or by phone at (408) 277-4102.
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