Man who recorded women in their homes gets 4 years

CRIME & THE COURTS /

LEBANON — A former maintenance man at a Warren County apartment complex was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison on charges he secretly videotaped women “in states of undress” in their apartments.

Judge Robert Peeler sentenced Gerald Rowe, 66, of Milford, on five counts of burglary and five counts of voyeurism. Rowe pleaded guilty in January.

“Mr. Rowe violated the sanctity of those women’s homes, all for his own perversions,” Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said in a press release. “For the rest of their lives, they will live in constant fear that someone has hidden cameras in their bedrooms.”

Upon release from prison, Rowe will be required to register as a Tier I sexual offender and report once per year for 15 years.

Rowe was a maintenance man at the Steeplechase Apartments in Deerfield Township.

In May 2016, a female resident contacted law enforcement after discovering a hidden camera mounted in the vent of her bathroom. Subsequently, detectives from the Warren County sheriff’s office discovered videos from four other females’ apartments in February, March, April and May 2016.

The videos indicated Rowe mounted the cameras to capture the female residents’ activities in their bathrooms.

In each of the apartments, the camera captured the female residents in states of undress.

One video recovered by detectives showed images of Rowe’s face while installing the camera.

He was interviewed by detectives and admitted to installing the cameras in the five apartments.