Ex-arcade manager admits taping Videos showed staff in bathroom

ALFRED – The former manager of a York Beach arcade faces jail time after admitting he videotaped employees using the bathroom.

Francis DuGrenier, 48, of West Townshend, Vt., pleaded guilty in York County Superior Court to 11 counts of privacy violation.

The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison. His sentencing is set for Dec. 7. DuGrenier likely will be sentenced to 45 days in jail, followed by four years probation, according to Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Slattery.

DuGrenier could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Richard Bern of Portland, did not return several phone calls.

DuGrenier managed Fun-O-Rama arcade during the summer of 2000. That fall, an arcade employee brought police a videotape of someone using the employee bathroom.

According to a police affidavit, another employee who was going to winterize the building found the videotape in DuGrenier’s apartment above the arcade. The employee had wanted to watch a movie when he found the video, which showed a female in the toilet area of the bathroom. The employee found 13 such videotapes.

DuGrenier’s office and the employee bathroom shared a wall. The employee who discovered the videotapes said he found two finger-sized holes drilled into the wall of DuGrenier’s office.

DuGrenier was arrested in November 2000. In the weeks before his arrest, police identified 11 of the videotaped people, some of whom were minors. The videos were shot throughout the summer, beginning in May.

DuGrenier had filed a motion to suppress evidence taken by the police but withdrew it in April. He entered his plea Monday.