Natrona County Man Arrested After Teen Finds Hidden Camera in Her Bedroom
A Casper man has been charged with voyeurism (for which the victim is less than 18 years old) and sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree.
Gary Edward Dean, 67, could serve 15 years in prison if convicted of these two felonies.
On July 28 a concerned parent called Casper Police after she learned that her daughter had discovered a camera hidden in her bedroom.
The girl told police she was cleaning her room when she saw the camera lens taped to a pink plastic wastebasket that was hidden behind other items on her bookshelf. The camera cord had been fed through holes drilled into both the basket and the shelf so that it could be plugged into the wall.
According to court documents, the teen disclosed that, shortly after her 14th birthday, clothing began appearing in her bedroom -- mostly thong underwear and push-up bras. She also found a crop top and pink shorts along with a neon sex toy.
Pursuant to a search warrant, detectives seized two laptops, a desktop computer, and the defendant's cell phone.
The parent of the victim told police she believed Dean had been living in Casper for about four years. He was originally from California and that he had gone through a bad divorce. The ex-wife had accused Dean of assault, child abuse, and "various other things," but maintained that Dean was acquitted of any wrong doing.
Later in the investigation, detectives learned that an application matching the brand of camera found in the basket had been deleted from Dean's phone.
Records say that on Aug. 9 a detective was granted a search warrant for the data related to the camera. They discovered eight videos, five of which featured the minor in underwear. Four of the videos had been downloaded. The camera was tied to a WIFI network named "fun."
Looking at Dean's phone, detectives obsered Amazon searches for girls clothing and an adult sex toy.
On Aug. 18 Dean was taken into custody.
Bond is set at $40,000 cash. Dean waived his right to a speedy trial.