Border Patrol Agent Indicted on 19 Counts for Hidden Bathroom Camera

A federal grand jury charged a Southern California Border Patrol agent with 19 counts on Thursday, after prosecutors say he installed a hidden camera in a women's bathroom and collected video and photos of his colleagues for more than a year.

Supervisory Agent Armando Gonzalez, 45, is accused of placing the camera in a stall at the Chula Vista Border Patrol Station, telling others it was part of a drug investigation into one of his female employees. No such investigation was actually underway, according to the grand jury’s indictment.

Prosecutors say Gonzalez is shown in his own footage hiding the camera sometime in July 2013, and in over more than a year, it took an estimated 300 videos by automatically recording when someone entered the stall.

A woman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection found the camera on Jan. 9 and reported it to authorities. Not long after, investigators say they found close to 170 pictures of naked women or those wearing only undergarments in Gonzalez’ office.

When confronted about the device, he told investigators it had been there for several days, according to prosecutors.

Gonzalez is scheduled to be arraigned on April 2 on various counts, including a felony count of making a false statement and a misdemeanor count of video voyeurism.

His defense attorneys told NBC 7 Gonzalez is pleading not guilty. They said to allow the justice system to work.

A CBP spokesman previously said Gonzalez has been placed on paid administrative leave.

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