Samuel Rodriguez, 39, was sentenced to 39 months in jail after pleading guilty to using his cell phone to secretly record “pretty girls” at a public restrooms at LaGuardia Airport, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Rodriguez, of College Point, worked at the airport then. He pleaded guilty to unlawful surveillance in the second degrees. Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris sentenced him to six months in jail, followed by 10 years’ post-release supervision.
He will be required to register as a sex offender.
According to charges, on December 9, 2018, a woman entered a one-stall unisex restroom after Rodriguez had stepped out. Moments later, she heard a beeping sound.
She walked toward the sound and found a cell phone actively recording inside the paper towel dispenser. The victim played back a previous clip, which captured a video of Rodriguez setting up the phone and angling the phone to capture anyone using the stall.
“He turned an airport restroom into his own personal peep show,” Katz said. “This is unconscionable and as a result of his actions, the defendant is going to jail.”
When Rodriguez was approached by law enforcement, he reportedly said, “I know what this is about and I’m sorry.” He later said, “I was trying to video pretty girls. I was going to masturbate to it at home.”