A babysitter in Alabama was shocked after discovering that the father of the children in her care had been spying on her through hidden cameras, including the bathroom.
Jonathan Bethancourt, 31, was charged with 11 counts of video voyeurism following his arrest in May, and a further eight following his second arrest in July, after Alyssa Glavan made the disturbing discovery:
Bethancourt was later heard trying to pay for Glavan’s silence after she alerted authorities in a recording obtained by police.
Glavan was hired by Bethancourt and his wife last December to babysit their two daughters.
Jonathan Bethancourt, 31, was charged with 19 counts of video voyeurism after two arrests this year linked to hidden cameras in his home
Alyssa Glavan was Bethancourt’s nanny for his two daughters and discovered the hidden camera in the bathroom of his home in Slidell, Louisiana
While working for the family, she made a disturbing discovery when she realized there was a camera disguised as a smoke detector in the bathroom.
“I dropped some cotton swabs, and I went to pick them up and I see this smoke detector is level with my crotch,” she said WDSU. “So I guess that’s weird, why is there a smoke detector in the closet, and one in the bathroom.”
Glavan said she removed the camera and found an SD card inside and a QR code on the back.
“I scan the QR code and what pops up is how to set up your eye spy camera. It was so perfectly placed that he saw me every time I pulled my pants down,” she said.
She added WALA: ‘I thought, “This can’t be real,” and when I saw the SD card I thought, “Oh my God” and [the QR code] said how to set up your I-spy camera. That was the moment when it really started bothering me. I started to panic and my heart was beating very fast.’
She took the camera and the children and went to the Siddell Police Department.
The hidden camera Glavan found in the bathroom was pointed at the toilet and was disguised as a smoke detector
Glavan discovered a QR code on the back that instructed her to set up an ‘I-spy’ camera. She then took the device to the Slidell Police Department
Bethancourt tried to plead with Glavan and even offered her money to keep her quiet
Bethancourt was arrested in May on 11 charges of video voyeurism and again in July on eight charges. In addition to Glavan’s lawsuit against him, two alleged victims have filed lawsuits against him, one of which was a minor
Bethancourt quickly discovered what was going on and sent several text messages to Glavan, including offering money to keep her quiet.
According to Glavan, he then began calling her seven times, and she was told she could answer and record the call if she felt comfortable doing so.
“I’m sorry I was just perverted,” Bethancourt said during the recorded phone call, WDSU reported, before apologizing several times.
According to Slidell police, an investigation began in late May and another hidden camera was found, as well as “other incriminating evidence.”
Additional victims were identified after investigators searched “substantial amounts of video evidence” and discovered that Bethancourt had placed cameras in his apartment in Orange Beach, Alabama, and in his home in Slidell.
The lawsuit against Bethancourt includes a list of other defendants, such as his business, Bethancourt’s Air Conditioning and Heating, and his wife, Lauren Bethancourt.
The lawsuit aims to address the privacy violations and potential harm suffered by the victim Martzell, Bickford and Centola law firm.
Glavan said she has suffered public shame and mental anguish not only from being recorded, but also from the possibility of the footage being shared.
Bethancourt is currently on bail following his second arrest in July and is charged with a further eight counts of video voyeurism.
After his second arrest, said Family AZtwo other lawsuits have been filed by alleged victims, including a minor.