Vancouver police officers arrested a Portland man investigators suspect of hiding cameras in a mother and daughter’s bathroom.
Richard L. Townsend, 63, was arrested Friday and appeared in court Monday on suspicion of three counts of voyeurism.
According to a police probable cause declaration filed with his court records, police arrested Townsend after he was captured on video placing a hidden camera in a bathroom vent.
One of the women in the home, where a mother and young adult daughter live, found the camera and contacted police, according to court records.
Police examined the footage on the camera to find both women recorded in varying states of undress, without their knowledge, court records said.
The mother told police she knows Townsend, according to court records, and he did not have permission to video record her or her daughter.
Court records said she also told police that prior to finding the camera, Townsend would often tell her she was attractive and that he wanted to take her out.
After the mother found the camera, Townsend also sent her multiple text messages asking her out to dinner, and then to stay at the Red Lion afterward, according to court records.
Officers contacted Townsend on Friday, and he admitted to being the one captured in the video, according to court records. The records said Townsend added he left the camera in the vent for construction-related reasons, then forgot to remove it.
Later, Townsend said he put the camera there in an attempt to watch the mother, in order to see whether she was using drugs, according to court records.
Townsend told officers he works for a property management company, according to court records.
His bail was set Monday at $50,000, and his next court date is Feb. 16.
