LONGBOAT KEY, Fla. (WSVN) — A couple who rented an Airbnb on Longboat Key got a lot more than what they bargained for when they found a hidden camera in their bedroom.
A screenshot of the listing 56-year-old Wayne Natt posted on Airbnb advertised a nice, large townhouse, but it never mentioned anything about hidden cameras.
Derek Starnes, who was visiting form Indiana, was in the home one night when he saw a pinhole in the smoke detector. He took it down and realized that the hole was actually a camera and immediately called police.
“We seized a lot of computer storage data devices,” said Long Boat Key Police Lt. Bob Bourque.
Police found two smoke detector cameras inside the home. The cameras have HD quality audio and video.
Starnes knows the camera captured him naked in the master bedroom, and he’s wondering where that video is now.
“They’re also Wi-Fi capable, so they’d beam a signal. He didn’t have to hardwire them in,” said Bourque.
Natt was arrested and charged with one count of video voyeurism. However, he has since bonded out of jail.
Airbnb put out a statement saying they are outraged, and they have permanently banned Natt from their community.
Starnes said Airbnb needs to do more to keep this type of thing from happening. He shared a photo he took off the device, that shows him and his wife looking up at the camera – all in hopes other victims will recognize the room and come forward.
Police said Natt told them everyone knew he had hidden cameras in his condo for sex parties he threw.
“He said it was for recording sexual activity, and his only response was it gave him a better angle,” said Bourque. “If people are consenting to recording sexual activity, why is it in a hidden smoke alarm?”
Police said the townhouse has been listed on Airbnb for two years and believe there could be hundreds of victims.
People who have stayed at the house located at 623 Cedars Court in Longboat Key are urged to come forward.
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