Frmr Rochester Hills city employee accused of bathroom hidden camera recordings

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WJBK) - For at least a year, a city employee had a camera set up to record unsuspecting victims during their most private moments, according to officials.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office arrested 30-year-old Eston Clark last year on accusations that he had been secretly recording people using his bathroom for a year. Clark's home in Rochester Hills was known as a popular place to party - but now, it sits empty after his arrest. Rick Walker lives nearby and said he was stunned to find out what happened.

"Never expected to hear that," Walker said. "Police raided the place and took out several boxes of evidence earlier in the year."

Clark was charged with ten felonies last December including capturing  an image of an unclothed person, using a computer to commit a crime, and - most disturbing to his neighbors - three counts of child sexually abusive material.

"I didn't know anything about kiddy porn on there," Walker said.

Police say Clark had a camera in the shape of a phone charger and hid it in the bathroom for recordings when he had parties at his home. A victim tells FOX 2 she was mortified when she learned she'd been taped so many times without her knowledge. A friend discovered the footage and handed it over to police.

"They have the videos to prove it, send him to jail," neighbor Oliver Savaya said.

Clark pleaded no contest to all charges in December and has since been fired from his job. His mother, Betty Clark, says he's done nothing wrong.

"He's pleaded guilty because it's right there but then again, it's like, I'm pleading guilty to capturing it, I'm not pleading to guilty to (it being) my original intent."

Clark's mother explains that her son would notice money and artwork was missing from his home after parties. So he pointed the camera toward the towel rack, not the toilet. 

"The way it was positioned, it wasn't hidden so anyone could look and see - there's the camera, in the bathroom I'm using."

She also said the moment he realized what was recorded, he put the camera in the closet and never visited child porn sites in the way he's accused.

"His intent -- he's never gone to these sites, It was a one time thing - all of this stuff that he's done is always in an artistic way."

No matter what was recorded, some people on video say they feel violated and plan to attend his sentencing next month

Clark facing several years in prison. Betty Clark said that the sentencing is extreme.

"That's a little obsessive and extreme for this one time, one time incident, that really was totally out of his control."