Man Takes Pictures Of Girls At NH Beach Using Hidden Camera In Bottle
HAMPTON, NH (CBS) - Sophie Scafidi wants people to know about her encounter with a man who made a spy camera out of a Gatorade bottle. "I just want to make sure people are aware of their surroundings," she says.
She and a group of friends were visiting Hampton Beach last weekend when a woman sitting near them, a stranger from Revere, grabbed a bottle from a suspicious man standing nearby. The bottle, which was painted black, split open to reveal a hidden camera inside.
"He had a lens and he put that on top, and then where you would sip out of, he took the top off of that, and he was pointing through there, and it was synced to his phone so he was watching what he was recording," said Scafidi.
But what surprised the group most, was the reaction when they called Hampton Police. Officers said the woman who took the bottle camera was the only one who committed a crime.
No matter how disturbing, police say there is no law against having a concealed camera in a public place. Since Hampton Beach is a State Park, it's no different than someone taking a picture of the ocean with a phone.
The woman who took the camera, turned it over to police, but not before taking the memory card from it. She later contacted Scafidi on Facetime, and showed her what was on it. "She got to the ones of me and there were two pictures, one of the front of me and one of the back of me," she said. "His shorts were about three inches from my body."
She said there was also video of the young girls who were sitting with their mother next to her. The witness who has the memory card is sending it to Scafidi, who plans to take it to police. "I'm there every weekend, so it's kind of creepy knowing people are out there doing that."
Hampton Police say they've contacted the man with the camera. They say it does not appear he crossed the line into criminal behavior, but they are investigating to make sure.
