Texas Security Camera Creeper Finally Sentenced for Spying on Women

When you allow someone into your home to install security equipment, you're taking a big leap of faith and placing your trust in strangers. Companies do all they can to weed out potential creeps, but no system is perfect and people can be unpredictable.

A man who violated the trust of female customers in Texas for almost half a decade was caught and pleaded guilty earlier this year, and now he knows his fate.

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No Defense

Back in January, 35-year-old home security technician Telesforo Aviles pleaded guilty to computer fraud. He waived indictment and told investigators all about his disgusting abuse of the trust placed in him while he worked for ADT.

Lurker in the Glass

The Department of Justice reported that, according to his plea papers, Aviles would routinely violate ADT company policy and add his own email address to customer ADT Pulse accounts, using the excuse that he needed temporary access to test a customer's security system.

It turns out Aviles was taking note of which homes had women he found attractive, and he would access their security cameras to watch them in states of undress or even engaged in sexual activity.

Creepiness By The Numbers

So, how extensive was Aviles' creepiness? The DOJ says he admitted to secretly accessing around 200 customer accounts more than 9,600 times.

Slap on the Wrist?

On Wednesday, June 9, the DOJ announced that Aviles was sentenced to 52 months (about 4.3 years) in federal prison.

Sure, federal prison is no picnic, and the maximum sentence he faced was 5 years. Still, I'm surprised he wasn't required to register as a sex offender or given any additional punishments.

Lasting Impact

One of Aviles' victims sums up everyone's feelings.

“This deliberate and calculated invasion of privacy is arguably more harmfrul than if I had installed no security system and my house had been burglarized,” she told the court in an impact statement. "This sick and corrupt individual's actions will have a lasting emotional and mental toll on me."

I can't imagine the feeling of knowing that someone was watching me in my most intimate moments inside my home for so long, and that in a few years he'll be out on the street again. Ugh.

Always Ask Questions

A home security system can be a valuable and reassuring thing to have. If you have such a system installed, ask a million questions.

Ask any question that comes into your mind, and if the person installing it says or does something that makes you uncomfortable (like needing to add their email address to your account to "test" the system"), ask them to explain why in detail. Then be sure to check with customer support to see if that's right and how you can be sure they've removed themselves once the testing is done.

What Do You Think?

Was Aviles' sentence too light? Should someone who commits such a crime have to register as a sex offender?