Christopher Sutherland
TEMPE, Ariz. - Officials with the Arizona State University Police Department say they have arrested a Mesa man for allegedly taking inappropriate pictures inside a campus building.
What we know:
The suspect was identified in court documents as 33-year-old Christopher Michael Sutherland. The incident happened on Aug. 25, when ASU Police responded to a call at the Noble Library, which is located on ASU's Tempe campus.
Investigators say a man told officers at the scene that he saw a phone over a bathroom stall and then confronted the suspect. Before the man left the area, he took a photo of Sutherland.
Police say Sutherland was later found at the business school building. Sutherland also showed one of the arresting officers photos and videos that were on his phone, and there were multiple videos of people in bathrooms that investigators say were taken in a surreptitious manner.
Dig deeper:
Investigators say during a post-Miranda interview, Sutherland admitted to coming to the ASU campus "with the intent to film men inside of bathrooms," and that no one knew he was taking video. He also admitted to filming three people at a business school bathroom, and two others at a Noble Library bathroom.
Sutherland, per court documents, admitted that "this ‘urge’ of his, which results in the surreptitious filming of male ASU students, has been an ongoing activity for the past five years."
"[Sutherland] stated he does so approximately once a month for the past five years," read a portion of the court documents.
Investigators also said they found dozens of similar videos on Sutherland's phone, as well as on a photo storage account that belongs to Sutherland.
What's next:
Per court documents, Sutherland is accused of the following:
- 3rd Degree Burglary - Unlawful Entry (A.R.S. 13-1506A1)
- Voyeurism (A.R.S. 13-1424A)
- Unlawful recording of another person (A.R.S. 13-3019A1)
- 2nd Degree Criminal Trespass (A.R.S. 13-1503A)
A judge, meanwhile, has set a $50,000 bond for Sutherland. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 3.
Area where the incident happened
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from court documents related to the case.