Accused video voyeur Dana Alan Caruso made his first appearance Tuesday before a judge in the Felony Division of the 20th Judicial Circuit in Lee County. Caruso was arrested Aug. 19 in Chicago, Ill., and was extradited to Lee County to face multiple charges of video voyeurism at Bowman’s Beach Park in July, following an investigation led by the Sanibel Police Department.
Public Works Department personnel noticed a new fire alarm device had been installed on the wall of the family restroom at Bowman’s Beach Park. After verifying the device had not been installed by the Public Works Department, the Sanibel Police Department was notified. Responding officers verified the device was not a fire alarm and suspected it could contain a video recording device.
Police obtained a search warrant to check the contents of the device and discovered it contained two recording devices, which had captured more than 270 videos running on a continuous loop in five-minute increments, according to police. There are 55 total victims with some victims appearing in more than one video clip. Several clips showed an empty bathroom and several at the end of the time period in question showed police at the start of the investigation.
Images of the device installed by the suspect are shown in police photos
After further investigation, police identified a suspect and notified other law enforcement agencies in Southwest Florida. An arrest warrant was secured on Aug. 9 for the suspect and police coordinated with other jurisdictions in Florida to locate him. Law enforcement officers in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport arrested the 58-year-old white male for the warrant 10 days later.
During the arraignment on Tuesday, prosecutors recommended a $15,000 bond for each of five felony counts, and a $5,000 bond for each of three misdemeanor counts. The hearing judge determined probable cause exists for all charges and set a $25,000 bond for each of the felony charges and a $5,000 bond for each of the misdemeanor charges, for an aggregate total of $140,000 bond.
The judge also ruled Caruso must be fitted with a GPS tracking device prior to his release Tuesday, and stipulated Caruso may neither return to the scene of the alleged crime, nor attempt to contact any of the alleged victims.
While Caruso was on the island for nine days, from July 16 to July 28, police only have evidence of criminal activity on July 28. The Sanibel Police Department is actively working to identify as many of the 55 people who were recorded as possible. If you were at Bowman’s Beach on July 28 and used the family restrooms, contact Detective John Eicher at the Sanibel Police Department by calling (239) 472-3111.
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