NORRISTOWN >> A Douglass (Mont.) man faces court supervision after he admitted to invading the privacy of a female co-worker by planting a camera under her desk and recording her at their Montgomery Township workplace.
Anthony Joseph DePaul, 35, of the 100 block of Chalet Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to four years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of invasion of privacy in connection with incidents that occurred between November and December 2016 while he worked at Teva Pharmaceuticals in Montgomery Township.
Judge Garrett D. Page, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered DePaul to undergo a psychosexual evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment. The judge said DePaul will be monitored by the probation department’s sex offender supervision unit while he serves the sentence.
An investigation of DePaul began Dec. 2, 2016, when the security director at Teva Pharmaceuticals, located along Horsham Road in Montgomery Township, contacted township police to report possible invasion of privacy by a Teva employee, according to a criminal complaint.
At that time, the security director told police that a female employee advised him that she located a device, which she believed to be a small camera, mounted under her desk.
“The device was attached to the bottom of her desk with Velcro and was pointed in the direction of her chair,” Montgomery Township Police Officer James T. Matlack alleged in the criminal complaint, adding the victim indicated the camera was pointed at her crotch area. “(The victim) stated she did not consent and had no knowledge of this device.”
The device, which was provided to police, was small with a lens at one end, court documents indicate.
The security director told police that the victim “was very upset and was sent home” after she made the discovery. DePaul immediately was placed on administrative leave, according to court papers.
During the investigation, several Teva employees stated they had observed DePaul near the desk of the female victim in the weeks leading up to the discovery of the camera. The witnesses also told authorities they observed DePaul following the victim around the office with his cellphone facing her, according to court documents.
When detectives interviewed DePaul about the matter he admitted to placing the camera under the woman’s desk four to five times and to recording the victim as she sat at her desk, according to the criminal complaint.
