HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A man who was arrested and charged after authorities said he installed a camera directly above his neighbor's shower is due in court this week.
Brian Matthew Burnette, 48, is charged with invasive visual recording, which is a felony. He was arrested last week and was released after posting a $5,000 bond.
What happened
A woman living at a townhome on Strack Road in north Harris County said she found several holes in the ceiling of her townhome bathroom in November.
According to investigators, she told a friend about the holes and he went into the attic and found a camera with a power supply on the floor directly over the bathroom. He also found an SD card in the camera. When he put the card in his phone, there were multiple videos of the woman taking a shower, according to court records.
Burnette is accused of knocking down the drywall that separates the two attics. According to the court documents, the camera was wedged into a hole in the attic floor directly over the bathroom.
Court documents said at least three files were found on the SD card, including a two-minute video of the woman naked in the shower. There was also a video of a naked man in a different bathroom and a third video of the camera as it was being installed. The third video did not show who installed the camera. Officials said it appeared as if about 20 files had already been exported off the SD card.
Burnette has been barred from contacting the woman or returning home as a bond condition. He's due in court Tuesday morning.
Neighbors react
The woman has since moved out of the home but neighbors said they're creeped out by the situation.
“We had no idea that had even happened in this neighborhood. So this is all news to us,” a neighbor who didn't want to be identified, said. “Was this person watching? Were they selling videos? Were they recording people? Don’t know. All of those things possibly could be happening.”
That neighbor just recently moved into the neighborhood.
“It’s pretty scary. It’s disgusting. To be in that person’s position, know that was happening to them. The feeling, I'm sure, is pretty wretched to think that somebody was doing that to you,” the neighbor said.