SPOKANE – A former guard at the U.S. Courthouse has been accused of using rooftop security cameras to peep into bedrooms at a downtown condominium complex and guest quarters at a luxury hotel.
Four felony voyeurism charges were filed Tuesday against Darin Earl Wanless, 32, of Cheney, who could face up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted. The case is believed to be the first in which government-owned security cameras on a federal building were misused with apparent sexual motivation, local authorities say.
Wanless was fired by Secure Solutions LLC of Orlando, Fla., a private security contractor that provides guards for the courthouse, after the case came to light.
Wanless does not have a listed telephone number in Cheney. Spokane County deputy prosecutor Edward Hay did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
West 809 is owned by a subsidiary of Cowles Co., owner of The Spokesman-Review, a newspaper that first reported on the voyeurism in June.
According to documents filed in court, federal investigators found Wanless had used high-powered digital video cameras to record one woman undressing on May 31 in the West 809 condos and another on June 1 at the Davenport Hotel. Two counts of the voyeurism charges relate to each woman.
Further examination indicated he also made inappropriate use of the cameras on 22 other occasions between May 15 and June 11, authorities wrote.
Authorities have said the cameras are capable of distinguishing ice cubes in a glass in an adjoining building. The condos and hotel were about a block from the courthouse.
The case was investigated by the Federal Protective Service but was filed in Spokane County Superior Court because it could be prosecuted as a felony under state law. Under federal law voyeurism is considered a misdemeanor.
Wanless has not been arrested but will be told to report to court voluntarily for arraignment in about two weeks, Hay said.
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