Police In 2 Cities Investigating Inappropriate Videos Of Unsuspecting Women
DENVER (CBS4)- Police in two cities in the Denver metro area are investigating a case where a man secretly videotaped women using tanning beds and while they were walking around.
The videotaping has been traced back to a tanning bed salon in Lakewood and the Denver Pavilions. Now police are working to identify more victims.
Brandon Hansen has been charged with burglary and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification in Jefferson County. Hansen is also facing charges in Denver.
A security guard allegedly caught Hansen, 36, taking the videos underneath women's skirts as they rode up the escalator.
When his cell phone was seized detectives found 117 videos with many of the still unidentified women. Investigators have identified nine adult women and one 17-year-old female who had been videotaped while tanning.
The GPS from Hansen's phone did pinpoint several locations in Denver and Lakewood where the videos were taken. Dozens were taken inside a tanning salon in Lakewood.
"We did not see the faces of these women but because of the surroundings, other things found in the booth, we're confident these victims can be identified," said Jefferson County District Attorney Pete Weir. "You can't just imagine the shock, the surprise and outrage when they learned of what had happened to them."
Weir said Hansen was a member of the tanning salon. According to the arrest affidavit, he would go into the salon up to three time a day, accessing the rooms as women were lying down naked, unaware he was in the room.
"It's a tremendous invasion of privacy, an extraordinary violation of a woman's rights and something the law takes seriously and we take it seriously," said Weir.
With the prevalence of cell phone cameras, Weir said it is now considered an invasion of privacy to take photos and videos to use for sexual gratification.
"It makes everyone potentially a victim, to be very vulnerable, and folks have to be cautious of where they are and how they're posturing themselves," said Weir.
Hansen is out on bond but did not respond to requests from CBS4 for comment. If convicted there is a mandatory five year sex offender registration. Hansen is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 1.