WESTON, FLA. (WSVN) - - A 27-year-old man was arrested after deputies said he used his cellphone to secretly record an 11-year-old girl through her bathroom window while she was preparing to shower.
According to a Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit, deputies responded to a home Sunday around 9:30 p.m. after the victim reported seeing a cellphone pointed into her bathroom through a shower window.
The victim, who was wearing a bikini top and shorts, told investigators she screamed after spotting the phone, alerting her family.
Deputies obtained surveillance footage showing a man dressed in black walking toward the victim’s home while holding a cellphone. Minutes later, the man was seen running from the area and returning to a nearby residence.
Investigators identified the man as 27-year-old Joel Luis Rivera, who lived in the same neighborhood, after reviewing surveillance footage and tracing a pickup truck seen in the recordings.
According to the affidavit, Rivera admitted being the person seen riding a bicycle in the footage and told deputies he had entered the victim’s backyard to “go by the lake.”
He claimed he ran away after hearing someone scream because he “freaked out.”
Additional surveillance footage from Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 showed a man matching Rivera’s description repeatedly approaching the same residence while holding a cellphone, deputies said.
Investigators also said Rivera’s cellphone matched the description provided by the victim.
Rivera was arrested Monday and charged with digital voyeurism and trespassing in an unoccupied structure or conveyance.
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