BRYAN, Texas — A 59-year-old man was sentenced on Friday to multiple years in prison for a 2019 spying incident that took place at a Texas A&M Transportation Services restroom.
According to the Brazos County District Attorney's Office, Peter Baty, a former Texas A&M University Transportation Services employee, was found to have used a spy camera disguised as a phone charger in the women's restroom to get photos of over 100 A&M Transportation Services employees.
The spy camera--which was recording around the clock and had been in the restroom for about five months--was found in early May 2019, and Texas A&M University Police soon connected Baty to the spying incident. A search warrant was issued and executed at Baty's home, and alongside the many photos of other employees, found evidence related to an unsolved police case from 2013.
In the unsolved case from 2013, a student returned to her apartment one day to find a box with a note attached. Inside the box were multiple photos of her as she was undressing. The district attorney's office says the note was also "explicit in nature" and indicated that the victim had been watched by the peeping tom for an extended period of time.
While police were investigating the case at the time, no suspects were able to be identified. However, while police were executing the 2019 search warrant of Baty's home, they found copies of the photos from 2013 on devices he owned.
According to the district attorney's office, since the statute of limitations had come and gone for his actions in 2013, he was unable to be charged.
When receiving his sentence on Friday, June 21, Baty faced a maximum sentence of two years in state jail. However, due to him being charged with five counts, the sentences were able to be applied consecutively. The State asked Judge Kyle Hawthorne of the 85th District Court to hand down maximum sentences for each count for a total of 10 years, but in the end only 12 month sentences for each of the five felony offense were handed down.
"It is through the tireless work of the University Police Department and continued strength of the victims affected that justice was done today," said Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Porter and Brian Baker in a press release. "The actions of the defendant created a living nightmare for dozens of individuals. Justice in this case demanded a stiff State Jail sentence."
