Bathroom camera lands father in jail

FARMINGDALE – A Farmingdale man accused of invading his children’s privacy by installing a video camera in their bathroom was arrested after a wireless signal carrying the images was picked up by a passing motorist.

Police were alerted by a motorist who reported seeing a child using the bathroom over his vehicle’s personal wireless backup signal.

John Harrison, 50, was charged Thursday with two misdemeanor counts of violation of privacy and possession of sexually explicit materials, police said.

A Maine State Police investigator reported finding numerous videotaped images of Harrison’s wife and three minor children, ages 9 through 15, using the bathroom. The images were broadcast by wireless cameras to monitors in another room in the house, police said.

Harrison’s wife told police she knew there was a camera in the bathroom but didn’t know it was recording. Police are reviewing material from digital cameras, recorders and computers seized from the home.

“We have a mountain of material to go through,” said state police Detective Sgt. Glenn Lang, supervisor of the computer crimes task force.

Harrison was scheduled to make an initial court appearance by video link. Prosecutors asked for bail to be set at $25,000 in property or $12,500 in cash.