A U.S. Border Patrol supervisor pleaded guilty May 14 to making a false statement to a federal agent and seven misdemeanor counts of video voyeurism in which he placed a camera in the drain of a women’s bathroom at a building inside the Chula Vista Border Patrol station.
Armando Gonzalez, 46, of El Cajon, remains free on $50,000 bond and is no longer working in his position. Sentencing was set for Aug. 17 before U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez in San Diego.
The maximum sentence Gonzalez faces is 12 years in federal prison and a $950,000 fine. Five years is the maximum sentence for the false statement charge and one year each is the penalty for the seven misdemeanors.
The motion detection camera was discovered Jan. 9 by a female government employee in a building at the Chula Vista Border Patrol station at 3752 Beyer Blvd. Court documents say agents seized an Apple Macbook computer in which there were edited video files of numerous women who changed clothes in the rest room.
The seven counts represent seven women who worked for the U.S. government in some capacity. Eleven other counts involving other videos will be dismissed.
Gonzalez initially told federal agents that the camera was installed for a drug investigation, but that was not true. The camera even shows Gonzalez installing it on July 20, 2013, wearing a ball cap and a Chargers sweatshirt, according to court records.
“These crimes are an assault on the dignity of victims who are left violated, powerless, anxious and unsafe,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement. “It will always be a priority to protect our federal employees and the public from such despicable invasions of privacy.”
FBI special agent in charge Eric Birnbaum said, “The conduct in this case involves a violation of trust and common decency committed against the victims.”
There were approximately 169 video files which contained images of women changing clothes or using the toilet. Gonzalez has agreed to take a polygraph examination as a condition of the guilty pleas. The camera, video card and computer will not be returned to him.
