‘A technological predator’

West Chester University student arrested in bathroom cellphone case

A West Chester University student was arrested after police said he hid a cellphone in public bathrooms in several states, including one at West Chester University, and recorded women.

Joshua Yannuzzi, 24, of Honey Brook, a musical theatre student at West Chester University, was charged with felony wire-tap violations, criminal use of a communication facility, invasion of privacy and other offenses, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said there are more than 20 female victims who were recorded in bathroom locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, and potentially many more who have not been identified.

Yannuzzi was scheduled to star in West Chester University’s production of “My Fair Lady,” Nov. 8 through Nov. 15 at the E.O. Bull Center for the Arts building, in which a cellphone was found in one of the gender-neutral bath-

rooms there.

“This defendant was a technological predator,” Hogan said. “Using his ties in the theater community, he specifically targeted certain young women for hidden recordings in private places, all for his own sexual gratification. The victims, the victims’ friends and family, and the entire theater community have been betrayed.”

On Oct. 10, a young woman was using a singleperson bathroom located at the O.E. Bull Center on the campus of West Chester University, Hogan said. The victim discovered an iPhone taped to the inside of the bathroom, pointed at the toilet and recording. The victim turned the iPhone over to the police.

The police located Yannuzzi outside of the bathroom. Video surveillance recordings revealed Yannuzzi entering the bathroom before the victim and then checking the bathroom after the victim left.

Police then used a search warrant to examine the contents of the iPhone. Police also reviewed the defendant’s online accounts, analyzed video recordings, conducted interviews, and engaged in other investigative techniques. From all of this information, the following facts were developed.

Numerous additional user-generated video recordings depicting several females in various stages of undress, including circumstances that required them to change clothing such as at a dressing room or back stage of a theatrical production were also recovered.

A police search of his computer revealed a general interest in bathroom voyeurism.

In a police interview on Oct. 25 at the West Brandywine Police Station, Yannuzzi admitted he placed his old Apple iPhone 6s in the first-floor bathroom at the E.O. Bull Center the day

“We need other victims to come forward and help us prosecute this defendant. Anybody who had contact with Josh Yannuzzi in theater productions or living arrangements is a potential victim.” — Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan

it was found by the victim, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He told police he used Gorilla Glue to secure the cellphone under the sink. He told police he started doing this in the spring of this year, and did it up to 50 times. He told police that at no point during any of his personal recordings did he have the consent of anyone to visually record them.

Yannuzzi is active in the local theater community. He specifically targeted young women he knew, through performances or other activities, authorities said. He would hide his iPhone inside a bathroom and surreptitiously record women in various states of nudity. Hogan said he engaged in this activity for his own sexual gratification.

Yannuzzi, Hogan said, has engaged in this conduct over 50 times in the last two years. Photographs that Yannuzzi inadvertently took of himself hiding the phone in bathrooms were found by authorities during the investigation.

Hogan said Yannuzzi’s crimes took place at the following locations:

• The E.O. Bull Center at West Chester University;

• The Footlighters Theater in Berwyn, Pennsylvania;

• The Genesius Theatre in Reading, Pennsylvania;

• The Street Lamp Productions Theater in Rising Sun, Maryland;

• A residence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;

• Multiple residences in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware;

• A residence in West Chester, Pennsylvania;

• A residence in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In addition to hiding his iPhone in bathrooms and recording women, Yannuzzi also installed a software application that allowed him to surreptitiously photograph women. The app is called “The-Spy-Camera” and is commercially available.

Hogan said Yannuzzi also took at least one of his illegal recordings of a victim and posted the recording to a website called “www. thisvid.com.” The video of this victim was viewed over 1,000 times.

Yannuzzi was arrested and charged with over 100 offenses, including: wiretap violations, criminal use of a communication facility, distribution of obscene materials, and invasion of privacy. He has been banned from the West Chester University campus, and from starring in “My Fair Lady,” while the school pursues administrative remedies against him.

“We need other victims to come forward and help us prosecute this defendant,” Hogan said. “Anybody who had contact with Josh Yannuzzi in theater productions or living arrangements is a potential victim. Victims can contact the Chester County Detectives and confidentially review recordings possibly related to them to determine if they were illegally recorded.”

This case was investigated by the West Chester University Police Department and the Chester County Detectives. The assigned prosecutor is Kevin Pierce. Anyone with information about Yannuzzi is urged to contact Chester County Detective Robert Balchunis at 610-344-6866.

Joshua Yannuzzi