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West Bend man accused; exposing himself
A former Froedtert employee faces 47 felonies after prosecutors said he used a hidden camera to record his coworkers in the bathroom.
WEST BEND, Wis. - A former Froedtert West Bend Hospital employee faces 47 felonies after prosecutors said he used a hidden camera to record his coworkers in the bathroom.
Outside his West Bend apartment, Greg Emmerich tries to comprehend that the neighbor he once respected now faces 47 felonies.
"He was probably the most upstanding guy that I ever met," said Emmrich. "I honestly was praying that it was a mistake."
Greg Emmerich
The accused is Steven Weis – and he faces the following counts:
- Exposing intimate parts (two counts)
- Stalking (four counts)
- Capture an intimate representation without consent (41 counts)
Prosecutors said 45-year-old Steven Weis stalked three of his neighbors, including two children. One of them told police Weis masturbated in front of them from his apartment window and complained to their mother about Weis taking pictures.
After Weis consented to a search of his computer West Bend police said they found more than 10,000 photos of the three victims. More evidence led them to Weis's day job in IT at Froedtert West Bend Hospital.
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Froedtert West Bend Hospital
Weis told investigators every day at work started the same. In the morning, he's come into the bathroom with a small camera. He'd install it using Velcro just beneath the sink and let it record all day. Then, he takes the camera on his way out.
"It's shocking. It's tough. It's disturbing," said Emmrich.
Investigators said they found videos showing 99 different hospital employees using the bathroom dating back to April. None knew they were being recorded.
According to a criminal complaint, When West Bend police questioned Weis, he "said he had been recording at the Clinic from about 2015 through 2019. He admitted he never received permission to record any individuals at the Clinic," the complaint says. The complaint said Weis told police he'd save the video that included attractive women and masturbated to them. Adding, he'd go into the bathroom, look for strands of their hair and collect them.
Law enforcement conducted a search of Weis' residence. They located a safe that had DVDs and other computer backups, including hard drives. They also "found hair strands secured to paper that were found in a safe. The defendant said if he found a female attractive and they would exit the bathroom, he would look on the floor for hair strands. He would collect them and bring them home," the complaint says.
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"It makes you wonder, you know, how good do you really know somebody," said Emmerich.
A search of Weis' laptop found folders which "contained videos and still images from the videos captured at the West Bend Clinic," the complaint says. A detective noted, "there were hundreds if not thousands of hidden camera videos."
So far, police have identified 29 of 99 victims at the hospital.
Froedtert West Bend issued the following statement on this matter:
"We are aware of the situation and have terminated the staff member in question. We are working with local law enforcement to identify possible victims and provide resources to help them heal."
Weis made his initial appearance in Washington County court on Monday, July 31 and is due back in court on Thursday. Cash bond was set at $100,000.