A Toronto man is facing a second degree sexual assault charge after a model allegedly found a camera in her dressing room at an east-end high school.
Police said the arrest follows the discovery of a hidden camera in a dressing room Wednesday at Ecole Lamporting High School near Lawrence Avenue East and Victoria Park Avenue.
The alleged victim, a 22-year-old model from Toronto, was a guest at a school party Tuesday night.
The next day, she noticed a plastic video door lock was missing from the dressing room, police said.
A member of the school’s staff saw the camera hidden in a camera that was connected to a radio-frequency identification transmitter, according to police.
When police searched the suspect’s home, they reportedly found numerous compromising photographs of the alleged victim as well as the device used to hide the camera.
According to police, the 26-year-old suspect has been charged with voyeurism and sex assault.
Meer Dhaliwal, who does business with a Toronto man who had the camera and the device used to hide it, said it’s a “new form of internet-connected home security that lets you watch your own home without having to be there.”
The pop-up device from Amurosis Inc. can be placed in a pre-set location where a camera can be set to record a live feed.
Surveillance video can be tracked via a phone app by the sender, according to a testimonial on the company’s website.
Dhaliwal said the alleged victim had been in contact with the company through their service and has reportedly had a “very good experience” with it.
“I wouldn’t have thought they would go so far as to put a camera inside of a dressing room,” Dhaliwal said.
“That’s exactly what’s going on now. People love to be on the computer. They like the comfort of being connected to the internet. We all have these devices, so if they can put it in a room like that, there’s no going back.”
Hema Vhiravarapu, a student at the school where the alleged incident took place, told the Toronto Sun it was a “really bizarre” situation.
“The student was upset, but she handled the situation well,” Vhiravarapu said.
“She didn’t want the boy to take away from the great memories we had together.”
Vhiravarapu said everyone at the school was in disbelief as the parents and students met Thursday.
“Everyone was really distraught,” she said.
Vhiravarapu said the surveillance issue has been a learning experience for the students who attend the school.
“It’s another lesson to have to learn,” she said.