JONESBORO, Ark. – The record button is red by design but a man who allegedly pressed the red button at the wrong time is blue from being caught by the victim, documents describe.
Geoffrey David Fortier, 23, of Jonesboro, faces a felony charge of video voyeurism over the allegations. According to the probable cause affidavit, a female went to Fortier’s residence, where he resided with his fiance, on June 7. The victim told officers she asked Fortier if she could take a shower and he said yes – but, “to let him go in first and use the restroom,” the affidavit says.
After he came out, the victim went into the bathroom, undressed and showered. When she got out of the shower, she noticed an iPad leaning against the wall.
The document goes on to say she picked up the tablet and realized she had been video recorded the entire time she was inside. She also told police the video showed Geoffrey adjusting the position of the iPad to capture where she would be undressing and then leaving the bathroom.
“She advised the video showed her nude before and after getting out of the shower,” the affidavit said.
Furious, the victim confronted him and said she deleted the video. However, with iCloud technology, Apple devices often sync photos and video to a cloud server, making any photo or video taken on one device viewable, and available independently, across all devices.
Police interviewed Fortier on June 16. He denied intentionally recording the video to police but admitted there was a video. He told officers he sat the iPad down and, as the report states, “it just automatically started recording without being manipulated to do so and just happened to record the victim in the nude.”
Fortier was given a polygraph test on July 26. During the procedure, Detective Jason Simpkins reported the suspect said he had left the iPad recording because, “he was recording himself urinating so that he could upload it to a pornographic site.”
As the affidavit states, Fortier said he had made money in the past by urinating on video and had recently gotten a request to do it again. He said when he left the bathroom, he left in a hurry.
Police reviewed the iPad for videos like Fortier described, but found nothing resembling the fetish behavior he described. Police also made note in the affidavit of the fetish video-excuse not being mentioned, at all, during the initial recorded interview.
Because the victim was not in public view and had an expectation of privacy, Fortier did not have a legal right to video her, even if she was at his residence. He faces a charge of video voyeurism, punishable by up to a $10,000 fine and by incarceration of a term of up to 6 years.
Fortier was previously employed by BPL Plasma, a blood plasma donation center on Nettleton Avenue in Jonesboro. Management would not confirm if Fortier was still employed Thursday when contacted by NEA Report, citing internal policy preventing them from releasing status on current or previous employees.
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