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Man accused of hiding spy cam in family bathroom indicted

Posted at 6:20 PM, Feb 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-27 18:20:40-05

The Abingdon man accused of installing a camera in a family bathroom faces two dozen new charges.

In January, Baltimore County police released a still image of the man they believed set-up the camera on the partition of two bathroom stalls in White Marsh Mall food court. A customer discovered the camera on December 23.

Tips from the public helped detectives identify the man as Mussawwir Sterrett. Sterrett, 40, was the general manager of a tech company that installed security cameras in people’s homes. 

RELATED: Man arrested with planting spy camera in mall bathroom operates a camera installation company

Police say the hidden camera was only up for a few hours but it was enough to record more than a dozen unsuspecting shoppers using the restroom.

“We knew that we had about 12 people on the video surveillance, it was just a matter of identifying them and determining who was an adult, who was a child and since we do have children on the video, we have that additional charge for child pornography,” said Baltimore County Police Spokeswoman Jennifer Peach.

This month, a grand jury indicted Sterrett on 25 charges. He face 12 counts each of prurient intent and peeping tom.

“The prurient intent charge has to do with the fact that he placed that camera in a public place where there is an expectation of privacy, which there is in a public restroom. The second charge has to do with peeping tom, which is watching when he's not supposed to be watching,” Peach said.

He was also charged with a felony count of child pornography. Police said at least four of the victims were juveniles.

According to charging documents, detectives also found deleted files on the SD card from the confiscated camera. It had sexually-explicit images with a 2013 date stamp.

In addition, detectives seized over two dozen items from Sterrett including computers, cellphones, hard drives, and clothing similar to what the suspect was wearing in the hidden camera video.

“We did obtain electronic evidence from his home during a search warrant in reference to this case and we're still looking into some of that to find out if we have any additional charges or an additional case that needs to be investigated,” said Peach.

The website and phone number for Sterrett's local business, Custom Runs Tech & A/V, are no longer functioning.

Police said they haven't been approached by any of his customers concerned about hidden cameras in their home. They believe Sterrett had more of a managerial role than technician.

Sterrett volunteered for the Parkville/Perry Hall Community Leadership Board for the Y of Central Maryland. Spokeswoman Sara Milstein would not comment on the circumstances of his removal. 

"He did not have contact with children. The Community Leadership Board is a fundraising board. It has nothing to do with Y program operations," wrote Milstein in an email.

Sterrett posted bail on February 16. His initial court appearance is scheduled for March 19.

ABC2 contacted Sterrett’s attorney. He declined to comment on this story.