Columbus firefighter allegedly hid camera in bathroom to record female coworker
A Columbus firefighter is accused of hiding a camera in a fire station toilet to record a female coworker using the bathroom, after he accidentally photographed himself with the same device, police testified Friday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.
Chester Leon Whitley, 29, was arrested Wednesday on felony charges of violating his oath as a public officer, one count of unlawful surveillance and six counts of attempted unlawful surveillance. Whitley has been a firefighter in Columbus since 2017, police said.
Cpl. Ryan Vardman testified Whitley’s coworker discovered the camera around 5 p.m. Oct. 19 in Fire Station No. 10 at 1547 Benning Drive. While using the toilet, she had trouble pulling toilet paper from a plastic bin, and the camera fell out as she tugged at the container, Vardman said.
The wireless, motion-activated Blink home-security camera from Amazon had been placed to record anyone using the toilet or coming out of an adjacent shower stall, the detective said. The unisex bathroom was one of three at the station, all side-by-side, and the female firefighter said she always used the same one, Vardman said.
The woman told investigators she previously had noticed Whitley staring at her, which gave her a “weird type of vibe,” the corporal said. She also said cleaning the bathrooms daily was among their regular duties, but Whitley told her and another worker he already had cleaned them that day, so they didn’t need to.
The camera did not store images itself, but sent them to online “cloud” accounts from which they could be downloaded for viewing, Vardman said. Police obtained search warrants for the accounts, which included Google mail accounts linked to Whitley’s iPhone.
Alleged selfie
That’s how investigators discovered Whitley accidentally shot a photo of himself with the camera before hiding it in the bathroom, the detective said.
During an interview at police headquarters, Whitley denied hiding the device in the toilet paper bin. “He just stated he was not going to admit to that,” Vardman said. When shown the photo he’d shot of himself, he fell silent, breathing heavily, apparently “in shock,” the officer said.
Whitley was arrested in January a misdemeanor of soliciting a prostitute in Tuscaloosa, Ala., having arranged online to meet her for oral sex. She turned out to be an undercover police officer.
The charge was dismissed June 30 after Whitley completed what’s called a “court referral program.”
Whitley was represented Friday by Columbus attorney Stacey Jackson, who questioned Vardman’s charging the firefighter with six counts of attempted surveillance, based on six male colleagues working the same fire station shift, who could have been recorded using the same bathroom.
Jackson said police had no evidence Whitley intended to record his male coworkers. He noted also that because the offense is alleged to have happened while Whitley was on duty, he as a public officer has a right under Georgia law to testify before any grand jury reviewing the evidence.
Judge Hunter found probable cause to send the case to Muscogee Superior Court, setting bonds totaling $60,000 on the eight charges.
Vardman told Hunter that Whitley is “in the process” of being terminated from his city job.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 1:31 PM.