Man accused of putting cameras in bathrooms at work out of jail on bond
Man accused of placing cameras in work bathroom appears in court
The man police say was spying on his Expedia coworkers while they were in the bathroom is out on bail.
SEATTLE - The man police say was spying on his Expedia coworkers while they were in the bathroom is out on bail.
On Thursday, Marcelo Vargas-Fernandez appeared in court. He pleaded not guilty to the voyeurism charges against him.
Court documents obtained by FOX 13 News indicated the accused voyeur owned 33 spy cams, 22 memory cards and 20 hard drives.
People who work in the Expedia building told FOX 13 that employees are angry that corporate did not provide more information regarding the incident.
FOX 13 News reached out to Expedia, who refused to speak on camera, but provided this statement:
"We are committed to protecting the privacy, safety, and security of our employees and guests at our offices. Although we do not typically provide comment on internal situations, we felt it necessary to share an update on the matter. We took immediate action the moment we discovered the issue and contacted local law enforcement to assist. In addition, the employee is no longer employed by Expedia Group. We continue to take this matter very seriously and are working closely with the appropriate authorities."
Lynnwood man charged, accused of placing spy cameras in 2 Expedia bathrooms
A Lynnwood man has been charged with multiple counts of voyeurism after investigators say he placed "spy cameras" in two bathrooms in Seattle's Expedia headquarters. He also told police he used those cameras to spy on his ex-wife without her knowledge, according to court documents.
During Vargas-Fernandez's hearing, an advocate said victims want protection from him.
"On behalf of the identified victims, they are in support of protection orders being issued and ask that the court protect their identities. They do not feel safe from the defendant," said the victim advocate.
Prosecutors say they haven’t been able to identify every person captured in the spy cam footage, and there could be more victims out there. Detectives counted at least 10 people caught on the cameras attached in the bathrooms.
"If we get more information sent to us, we can potentially add more charges," said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Vargas-Fernandez has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree voyeurism.