Man charged in secret videotaping

Police say there are more victims

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Posted: 10/19/2012

By: Michael Quander, @MikeQReports

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WMAR) - A man who secretly videotaped two roommates in Ellicott City is behind bars.

Howard County Police arrested 42-year-old Michael Stephen McKenny, of 10338 Hickory Ridge Road in Columbia.

McKenny is charged with several counts of burglary, visual surveillance with prurient intent and videotaping a person in a private residence without consent.

ABC2 News first showed you video clips, on Thursday, of the suspect as he placed hidden cameras inside of two womens' bedrooms and bathrooms

After the release of the video, police say they received multiple tips that allowed them to quickly identify McKenny.

VIDEO | Hidden camera found in womens’ bedrooms

Investigators believe that McKenny knew of both of the victims, stole and copied their condominium key, and was able to gain access into their home without using forced entry.

Police say that as they observed the videotape, they found two other unidentified women on the video camera

who had been recorded in an unknown residential bathroom.

This footage was unrelated to the images from this incident.

Investigators say that once these women are identified, they will be notified of the investigation.

McKenny, police say, had stolen a key from one of the women, made a copy of it, then returned the original. So there was no forced entry into the home.

John Grab of Vintage Security says under those circumstances, an alarm system would have kept him out.

“What you want is to detect who comes in, get them out and then notify the proper authorities,” he said.

Modern systems can include surveillance cameras that send videos to your smartphone any time anyone walks in or out.

And the systems can be portable, so you would be able to use it even in a rented apartment or condominium -- like the one police say Michael McKenny had been entering and leaving at will for the past several months.

“If you're in that rental unit for a year and you move on to another one you can take that system with you and have it re-installed in the next place you go to,” Grab said.

McKenny is currently being held at Howard County Detention Center on $100,000 bond.