Johnson & Johnson Worker Arrested for Hiding Spy Camera in Bathroom

January 29, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff

The New York City Police Department announced yesterday that it had made an arrest of a suspect for placing a hidden camera in unisex company bathroom at Johnson & Johnson headquarters. The alleged suspect, Stephen Lewins, was a former contract project manager with the company.

On Jan. 16, 2015, Johnson & Johnson’s building maintenance supervisor reported the discovery of a pinhole camera in a bathroom at headquarters at 601 W. 26th Street in New York City, in the NYPD’s 10thPrecinct. The camera also contained an SD card for video storage.

A spokeswoman for the company indicated that Lewins is no longer with the company. Originally from England, Lewins currently lives in New York. Lewins’ LinkedIn primary page indicates he managed a number of programs, including delivery of a global Drupal solution in support of global inventory and individual brand websites. Court documents cite that the camera footage was intended “for the defendant’s own, and another person’s amusement, entertainment, and profit, and for the purpose of degrading and abusing a person.”

An unidentified investigator said that the camera was directed at a toilet and “reflected the mirror in the bathroom in such a manner that a person undressing is visible to the camera lens.” The SD card recorded several men and women using the toilet and changing clothes.

“The device was hidden above a light switch in the bathroom next to offices that include Ralph Lauren and Haynes Roberts, whose interior-design projects focus on mansions and exclusive resorts from Palm Beach to Fifth Avenue,” reported the New York Post.

“The bathroom with the hidden device is open and accessible to all tenants and guests on the floor," said the paper. "It wasn’t clear whether the potty perv who put it there captured customers or models who do photo shoots nearby in RR Donnelley’s Studio W26.”

Lewins was handed an unlawful surveillance charge, which is a felony. He was released and will be back in court in April.

Unlawful surveillance in the second degree is a Class E felony, and can be a Class D felony for repeat offenders. According to the New York Criminal Defense and Civil Rights Attorneys website, "The crime can be a misdemeanor or a felony depending on whether the unlawful images were sold for profit, whether the disseminator was the person who created the images, and/or whether the person accused of the crime is a repeat offender.”

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