People gather outside Newport Centre mall in Jersey City waiting for it to open Jan. 12, 2019.
A teenager was arrested after he hid a recording device inside a bathroom at a mall in New Jersey, according to law enforcement.
A woman was using the family restroom on the first floor of the JCPenney at the Newport Mall in Jersey City on Aug. 9 when she spotted a black device, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday. Police were contacted soon after and started investigating.
Soon after, 18-year-old Andy Cardenas was identified as a person of interest, according to the investigation. Multiple digital files were recovered from the device that was found, with images from several restrooms found on it. It was not known how long the recording device had been used, or what bathrooms it had been placed in before it was found in the JCPenney restroom.
Cardenas was arrested on Oct. 1 and charged with third-degree invasion of privacy. He was released on a summons, and his next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 22. Attorney information for Cardenas was not immediately available.
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The Special Victims Unit of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office was looking for help identifying what other restrooms were seen in the footage on them device (see photos below). Anyone with information is asked to call the Special Victims Unit at (201) 915-1234.
