CHELSEA — A contractor for Johnson & Johnson was arrested for placing a hidden spy camera in a company bathroom that recorded multiple people using the toilet, authorities said.
Stephen Lewins, 42, of Brooklyn, was arrested for unlawful surveillance on January 23, after the pinhole camera was discovered in the restroom a week earlier, the NYPD said.
A Johnson & Johnson employee found the camera and an SD card hidden in a wall above a light switch inside the unisex bathroom Jan. 16. The company said it alerted the NYPD immediately.
A company staffer told the Manhattan District Attorney's office that the video camera was facing the only toilet in the bathroom and "reflected the mirror in the bathroom in such a manner that a person undressing is visible to the camera lens," the criminal complaint said.
The camera recorded multiple men and women in various states of undress and in the process of using the bathroom, the complaint added.
Court documents stated that the camera was installed "for the defendant's own, and another person's amusement, entertainment, and profit, and for the purpose of degrading and abusing a person."
Lewins, who was charged with felony unlawful surveillance, hails from England and previously worked at The Children's Society, according to his Facebook page.
A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson said Lewins is a contractor, rather than a formal employee, and that he is no longer working for the company. Lewins lists himself as a project manager at Johnson & Johnson on his LinkedIn page.
He was released and is due back in court in April, the complaint said. His lawyer declined to comment.
Lewins did not respond to a message requesting comment.
