Authorities accused an Illinois man of secretly recording women and girls with a hidden camera in his ice cream shop, police said.
The Addison Police Department (APD) received an anonymous complaint earlier in August about a seemingly fake wall electrical outlet at Flavor Frenzy, the ice cream shop owned by Steven Weisberg, according to a press release. An undercover officer visited the establishment and allegedly saw the device contained a black lens and was positioned to record parts of the bathroom.
Officers secured a search warrant and discovered the device contained a camera, police said. An investigation allegedly found multiple videos on the “deleted” folder of Weisberg’s phone. The videos allegedly depicted female employees and a minor undressing and exposing her breasts. Two other videos showed still unidentified employees — one underage — exposing their buttocks and sex organs on camera, police alleged.
Authorities charged Weisberg with two counts of child pornography and two counts of unauthorized video recording.
Following his arrest, four female employees who are minors allegedly told the APD that Weisberg asked them to model multiple T-shirts for the business. He also told them to take off their bras so there would be no bra lines in the photos, according to police. (RELATED: Three Killed In NYC Sunday Morning Mass Shooting)
Addison Police Chief Roy Selvik reacted to Weisberg’s arrest by calling his alleged actions “heinous” and “disturbing.”
“Mr. Weisberg allegedly falsely created an environment where children should have felt safe and secure,” the police chief said. “Instead, he betrayed not only their trust, but the trust of our entire community in one of the most heinous and disturbing ways.”
“Our agency will continue working to find additional victims in the case and provide all assistance available including social services.” he added.
A judge denied Weisberg pre-trial release and he is due back in court on Sept. 15.