A Pompano Beach, Fla., man has been arrested on video voyeurism charges after authorities said he hid cameras in men's bathroom stalls at YouFit gyms across South Florida, recording more than 400 videos of nearly 130 victims.
As reported by Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ, Bernardo Santiago Lopez, 30, was arrested Wednesday in Palm Beach County following an investigation by Boynton Beach Police.
He appeared in court Thursday where he was ordered held on a $50,000 bond, WPTV, the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, reported.
According to WPTV, the investigation began on Sept. 11, 2023, when police responded to a suspicious incident at the YouFit located at 801 N. Congress Ave. in Boynton Beach, according to an arrest report.
The report said an employee found a "hidden spy camera under the sink in the men's handicap bathroom stall." According to the report, the general manager told police there were more hidden spy cameras found at additional YouFit locations throughout South Florida.
The next day, the Boynton Beach Police Department's Digital Forensic Unit was able to determine that the camera was installed on July 10, 2023 at around 10:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the gym closes, the report said. The first still images showed a man, later identified as Santiago, performing a test run by placing himself in front of the toilet. The report said, during the test run, Santiago used his cell phone "in what appeared to be the set up and the verification of the recording device placement."
Police said the camera started recording July 11, 2023, and stopped on Sept. 11, 2023, when it was discovered by the YouFit employee.
The gym's general manager told police there were more hidden spy cameras found at additional YouFit locations throughout South Florida, WTVJ reported.
YouFit employees had found cameras at locations in Miami-Dade and Broward, and records showed Santiago Lopez had checked in at multiple YouFit gyms in the tri-county area, the report said.
Of the 128 victims recorded over the course of two months, there were boys between the ages of 13 and 17 who appeared in the videos, the report said.
"All of the videos captured the victims dressing, undressing, or privately exposing the body," the report said.
