A Murray man was charged with voyeurism this month after police said he secretly filmed videos of nude people at the University of Utah’s main recreation center and gym, using cameras that he hid inside restrooms at the facility.
The 32-year-old man was not a student or employee of the university, but police said he used a co-worker’s student ID number to gain access to the Eccles Student Life Center.
Frederick William Weitze III, 32, was charged in 3rd District Court on Dec. 5 with forgery, a second-degree felony; burglary, possession of forgeries and forgery devices, and two counts of identity fraud — all third-degree felonies; as well as five counts of voyeurism, a misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause statement, on Nov. 30, a witness in a third-floor restroom of the gym first noticed something black underneath a sink. When the witness looked closer, he discovered a camera affixed under the white sink with white athletic tape, apparently to make it look less noticeable. The witness removed the device and turned it in to the front desk of the Student Life Center.
When campus police responded and began a sweep of restrooms at the facility, officers found a second device also attached with white tape in a basement-level bathroom on the west side of the building by the pool, pointed at an area where men would be changing, according to the probable cause statement.
While reviewing the footage on the devices, police were able to determine when the cameras were hidden in the restrooms and, using surveillance footage, identify a suspect who entered the restrooms at about the same time. The same man was seen on surveillance footage entering the facility and swiping a campus recreation services card.
The devices contained video of “several nude males changing clothes in the restrooms,” according to police. Detectives identified five of the men and interviewed them; each said they had given no one permission to film them.
On Dec. 1, Jason Hinojosa, the interim campus police chief, said investigators were working to protect all evidence obtained from the cameras, noting all evidence would be stored “on a locked down, trackable system and accessible only to the investigating detectives and their supervisors,” according to a statement.
“No images have been downloaded to police laptops or cell phones,” police said.
When officers contacted the owner of the recreation services card that the suspect used to access the gym, they learned that the card was not used by its owner and instead used by a co-worker of the owner. That co-worker was identified as Weitze.
Police arrested Weitz on Dec. 1 and found the recreation services card in his vehicle, along with white athletic tape, micro SD cards, thumb drives and other recording equipment.
Police also found blank cards with magnetic strips and a machine used to encode the cards in the vehicle; more recording equipment was also found in Weitze’s home.
The co-worker told police that Weitze had asked him if he wanted a free membership to the U. gym. Weitze said he could sign up for a membership and add the co-worker as a guest, and the co-worker gave Weitze his student ID number, court records state.
The co-worker said he never gave Weitze permission to impersonate him or fraudulently obtain a recreation services membership in his name.
Weitze is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 19.
In a statement at the time Weitze’s arrest, John MacDonald, director of the Eccles Student Life Center, issued a statement acknowledging that “many of our patrons will feel victimized and violated by the perpetrator who installed these cameras in what are supposed to be private and safe areas of our recreation center.”
“Please know that university leaders share your outrage and will do everything in our power to hold responsible the person who destroyed our sense of safety and community,” the statement continued.
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