SALLISAW, Okla. — A restaurant employee has been arrested after customers found a hidden camera in a women's bathroom.
On Sunday, April 14, a customer at Roma's Italian Restaurant in Sallisaw logged into a WiFi account and saw a camera pointing at a bathroom stall that he thought was from the restroom of where he was dining. To make sure the customer asked his wife to help him find out.
"At this point in time, he sent his wife into the restroom and was able to see her on a live feed," said Sallisaw Police Captain Jeff Murray.
Sallisaw officers, with assistance from restaurant management, located a hidden wireless Bluetooth camera in the air vent above the stall in the women's bathroom.
Tuesday (April 16) Edgar Leonel Moran-Carrera, 32, was arrested after he confessed to placing the camera in the bathroom. He has been an employee since the restaurant opened, though the restaurant has recently been taken over by new owners.
According to a press release, this is the second time a camera has been found in the women's bathroom at the restaurant but is the first time it's been reported to the police.
Investigators said the other incident was around 4 years ago and it is now a part of this recent investigation.
Upon searching Moran-Carrera's residence, investigators said they seized several cellphones, laptops, data storage devices and computer equipment.
Investigators said depending on what they find on those devices and if children are involved this could turn into a federal case.
Investigators also say finding out the number of victims could be a long process but believe there could be hundreds even thousands if there is years worth of video.
"He's the one that actually cleaned the restrooms," said Roma's waitress Alyssa Ross. "I feel like he did that on purpose."
Ross said Moran-Carrera had worked at the restaurant around 6 years and was a dishwasher.
Ross said she is shocked that this happened and feels uncomfortable going back to work.
"My own daughter was changed in there and I do not know if that was recorded. I do not know if I was. I've changed in there multiple times. I go in there about two or three times a day," Ross said she used the bathroom to change into and out of her work uniform. "It hurts my heart that it even happened, especially to everyone that went through it, everyone that's on the camera, all the kids, all the children."
Police have also said that part of their investigation is to determine if the recordings targeted certain people or females in general and if those videos were shared.
Moran-Carrera is being currently held in the Sequoyah County Detention Center without bond.
5NEWS also spoke with the current managers under the new owners who would not go on camera but did say they are shocked and saddened because not only has their customer's privacy been violated but also their own families have used the restroom there.