CCSU student, 25, facing charge of voyeurism

A Central Connecticut State University student faces a voyeurism charge after he was allegedly caught peering in on two fellow students while they were showering in a women’s locker room on the New Britain campus.

Matthew Nieves, 25, allegedly made eye contact with one of the complainants before she screamed and ran to tell her coach what had happened on Jan. 17, according to the arrest warrant in the case.

Nieves — who is free from custody — faced a judge in New Britain Superior Court on Monday on charges of third-degree criminal trespassing and voyeurism. His case was continued to April 27 without a plea.

“CCSU doesn’t comment on a pending investigation involving a named student,” Jodi Latina, associate VP of communications and media for the university, said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the warrant, the victims had just finished practice when they noticed a male peering into the showers in the women’s locker room in Kaiser Hall, which houses the school’s athletic department and swimming pool.

Upon reporting what happened to the coach, the coach was able to follow the male suspect and take photos of him, which were then shared with police, the warrant said. Officers, with the assistance of a school official with the housing department, identified the suspect as Nieves, according to the warrant.

CCSU officers spoke to Nieves the day after the incident and initially believed he was the wrong person, as he was cleanshaven and the suspect had a goatee. Nieves, police wrote in the warrant, told officers he had shaved his goatee earlier that morning.

The 25-year-old student also allegedly told police he had been wandering around Kaiser Hall a day earlier, looking for the gym, when he got lost in the building, the warrant said. He told police he eventually stumbled upon a door, which he opened, and heard the sound of water running and female voices, according to the warrant.

Nieves said he left without seeing anyone once he saw clothes on the floor and felt like he should not have been there, CCSU police wrote in the warrant.

According to the affidavit, investigators said they reviewed video surveillance in the building which showed Nieves walking with a clear destination in mind and not wandering aimlessly, as he told police. CCSU police also noted in the warrant that he would have passed multiple signs to indicate he was approaching the women’s locker room.

Judicial records indicate Nieves is being represented by a public defender. The Division of Public Defender Services in the New Britain courthouse did not return a request for comment Tuesday.