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Authorities at Pennsylvania State University arrested a man accused of recording women who were showering in a dorm at the university earlier this month.
Xinyu Li, 24, is charged with two counts of criminal trespassing and two counts of invasion of privacy by viewing or photographing a person without consent after he allegedly snuck into a Penn State dorm and recorded two women using the dorm’s showers, according to Centre County records.
Around 8:26 p.m. on Oct. 7, the first female victim was showering on the third floor of Hamilton Hall when she noticed a person standing next to the stall she was in, according to a criminal affidavit from Penn State University police. The victim then noticed “a cell phone above the top of a shower stall,” the affidavit states.
“The phone went away and came back up. The person started to run away. The victim stated the suspect ran out of the bathroom and down the hallway,” the complaint reads.
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Around 8:26 p.m. on Oct. 7, the first female victim was showering on the third floor of Hamilton Hall when she noticed a person standing next to the stall she was in, according to a criminal affidavit from Penn State University police. (Google Maps)
Surveillance cameras apparently captured the suspect entering Hamilton Hall by piggybacking, or following behind, students with lawful entry into the building, according to police. He was wearing an argyle sweater, black shorts, white shoes and black, wire-rimmed glasses at the time.
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A week later, on Oct. 14 around 9:30 p.m., a second female victim was showering on the third floor of Hamilton Hall when she noticed a phone poking out from the bottom of the stall she was in. She told police she believes the phone was “under the stall wall for a few seconds” before the suspect fled, according to a second police affidavit.
On Oct. 14 around 9:30 p.m., a second female victim was showering on the third floor of Hamilton Hall when she noticed a phone poking out from the bottom of the stall she was in. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Happy Valley Jam)
Surveillance cameras again apparently captured the suspect — this time wearing a black Adidas jacket, khaki shorts, black slides and black, wire-rimmed glasses.
“Of note, the stairwell terminates on the [third] floor hallway, directly adjacent to the [third floor] bathroom,” the second complaint states.
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The suspect appeared to descend the staircase onto the first floor after he fled from the second incident, at which point he pulled up the hood of his jacket while exiting near the building’s cameras.
Cameras also allegedly showed Xinyu Li leaving through the building’s loading dock into a maroon pickup truck. (Google Maps)
Li was then allegedly captured exiting the building’s lobby, pulling his jacket off and stuffing it beneath his argyle sweater. Cameras also allegedly showed him leaving through the building’s loading dock into a maroon pickup truck.
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After receiving complaints from the two victims, police canvassed the area and noticed a truck matching the description of the suspect truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Toftrees Avenue. Investigators ran the tags on the truck, which came up as a vehicle registered to a business called Comet Tech, Inc.
READ THE COMPLAINT:
“A Google search…shows the ‘Founder and President’ as Xinyu Li. The company is a delivery/ moving/ storage service for college students,” the affidavit states.
Authorities identified Li as their suspect and arrested him on Oct. 20.
“Li admitted to taking videos of both victims on the separate occasions, noting that in one incident he took video over the shower stall, and in the other he placed the phone under the shower stall. … Li initially felt guilty for doing so and deleted the videos,” police wrote.
A Penn State investigator then searched the suspect’s phone and found five videos of nude victims showering in Hamilton Hall. The detective found the videos in an application “disguised as a calculator” in an effort to “prevent detection of videos.”
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Penn State did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but a spokesperson for the school told StateCollege.com that “[t]he safety of [its] campus community is always Penn State’s top priority.”
“[W]e are grateful that University Police and Public Safety was able to identify the person believed to be responsible for these disturbing incidents,” spokesperson Jacqueline Sheader told the outlet. “UPPS, alongside numerous other departments and partners, work hard to develop and nurture the safest possible environment and to provide security services for students, faculty, staff and visitors. UPPS reminds the community that following critical safety protocols — such as not permitting unknown individuals access to residence halls — are important to help to keep our campus safe.”
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.
