A man who worked at the Twin Cities airport surreptitiously video recorded other men more than 140 times in employee-only bathroom stalls, according to charges filed Tuesday.
MSP airport worker spent months secretly video recording other employees in bathroom stalls, charges say
On the phone were 143 videos taken inside airport bathrooms showing men "at various stages using the bathroom," the charges read.
June 27, 2023 at 9:04PM
Michael Lamar Maceda-Tapia, 36, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with 11 gross-misdemeanor counts of interference with privacy in connection with the incidents at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that spanned many months until mid-February.
Maceda-Tapia, of St. Paul, was charged by summons and is due in court July 17. Court records do not list an attorney for him, and contact information for Maceda-Tapia was not immediately available.
The charges did not specify Maceda-Tapia's job at the airport. While working there, Maceda-Tapia had a SIDA (Security Identification Display Area) badge, which is issued to anyone with an operational need to access the secured space surrounding a terminal, the charges read.
Airport spokesman Jeff Lea said Tuesday that Maceda-Tapia worked for Detroit-based Midfield Concession Enterprises, a dining services provider, during the time of his alleged offenses. The airport revoked his security badge on Feb. 16, preventing him from working at MSP, Lea said. Messages were left with the company for further information about Maceda-Tapia.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Feb. 16, airport police were alerted by a visibly shaken employee that Maceda-Tapia had attempted to take photos of him from under the stall in the men's bathroom below Gate E2 in Terminal 1. The reporting party said Maceda-Tapia was still in the bathroom.
Police confronted Maceda-Tapia, who acknowledged being in the bathroom. While under arrest, he told police he began working at the airport in May 2022 and had been taking videos in two employee bathrooms below Concourse E "for a few months," the charges read.
Officers confiscated Maceda-Tapia's cellphone and had its data searched for evidence. There were 143 videos taken inside airport bathrooms from Aug. 11, 2022, to Feb. 14. showing men "at various stages using the bathroom."
There also were photos taken inside a public bathroom stall and 14 photos of airport closed-circuit recordings of a male passenger at a coffee shop "with low pants exposing his [buttocks], the complaint read.
According to a related court document, Maceda-Tapia told police he only recorded men and never shared the images with anyone.
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