Cops: Cape resort worker videoed women in shower

A 25-year-old convicted felon working at a Cape Cod resort is accused of secretly videotaping women while they were showering in a locker room.

Yarmouth police arrested Anthony Mendes Saturday evening after a female guest at a resort on South Shore Road discovered a hidden camera while she was showering. Mendes admitted to police his involvement with the video camera.

Mendes was arraigned in the Barnstable District Court on charges of misleading to obstruct justice by tampering with evidence and secret video recording/electronic surveillance of partial nudity and released on $1,000 bail.

The case started Friday when a woman noticed a black charger plugged into the wall near a sink in the women’s locker room.

The victim was unclothed and showering when she spotted a small hole in one of the dropceiling tiles in the corner of the shower. As she examined the hole closer, she could see a blinking blue light, police said.

The ceiling tile with the hole in it was then moved and a camera fell out. The victim picked it up and notified the front desk and asked them to call police, Yarmouth police said.

Mendes, working at the front desk, overheard the conversation and went to where the victim and her boyfriend were, police said.

Mendes took the camera and the charger from the victim, and the three proceeded to the front desk to wait for the police to arrive.

Yarmouth police Detective Michael Wells viewed footage from a hotel surveillance camera outside the women’s bathroom. On the footage, Wells saw Mendes enter the workout area, go into the women’s bathroom and close the door behind him, police said.

About 20 minutes later, according to police, Mendes came out from the bathroom and looked around before going back into the bathroom, leaving the door open, police said.

On Saturday, police waited for Mendes to return to work, where he was scheduled to start at 5 p.m., but he never showed up.

At 5:30 p.m., police spotted Mendes in his girlfriend’s vehicle, traveling on Forest Road, and he was taken into custody.